The Stars in our Eyes
by Why Fireflies Flash
Summary: Genevieve Rooney has a lot on her plate. A brother who is going through his first year at Hogwarts, a crumbling relationship, and a best friend who wants to get their homework done a month before it's due. It's stressful and she is at a loss. But why is it that the only person she feels she could turn to is none other than Sirius Black? Sirius/OC
1. Prologue: The Black Dog

_**Hey everyone! Well, I used to have stories in the Harry Potter fandom, but I deleted them because a) I lost inspiration for it and b) my writing schedule was very busy. But recently I was inspired to try at it again with a new Sirius/OC story. Hope you all enjoy the prologue :)**_

_**Summary: Genevieve Rooney has a lot on her plate. A brother who is going through his first year at Hogwarts, a crumbling relationship, and a best friend who wants to get their homework done a month before it's due. It's stressful and she is at a loss. But why is it that the only person she feels she could turn to is none other than Sirius Black? Sirius/OC**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, that all belongs to our Queen, JK Rowling. But I do own Genevieve and other characters that do not belong in the HP franchise.**_

* * *

_Prologue.  
__The Black Dog._

**August 31****st****, 1977. **

Genevieve stood in front of the dog for a moment, coming upon it while heading into her grandmother's garden to grab her missing book. The dog was large, the coat of it black as a cloudless and starless night sky, but its eyes were the strangest she had ever seen on a dog. The dog had familiar grey eyes and they almost looked like they belonged to a human rather than a dog. She smirked at it before kneeling down into the grass, her brown waves hanging a little over her shoulders. "Aren't you a strange dog?" She asked it, looking at it funnily.

The dog sat its bum down, the grass crunching underneath. Its nose scrunched like it was puzzled in front of her like it… understood. Genevieve raised an eyebrow at it before correcting herself to see what the dog would actually do. "I meant that in a good way."

It almost seemed that the dog's face broke into a grin and it had gotten up from its place to go up to her. Genevieve chuckled lightly, surprised by this, but nevertheless allowed the dog to come to her. Its tail brushed the side of her leg. "So, are you a boy?" She asked the dog, uncertainly, her hand going to the dog's ear and rubbing gently. In response, his tail thumped on the ground several times. She assumed that to be a yes.

She couldn't get over this. It was like the dog actually understood her. "Do you have a name then, boy?" The dog looked up at her, his grey eyes looking into her blue eyes. Those grey eyes were so familiar; they were beginning to bother her. But she didn't—or tried to not allow it to bother her. She tore her eyes away from the dog before looking to see if there was a tag around its neck.

"Well, I don't see it here. You look to be a stray." She muttered before dropping her hand from the dog's ear, which made the dog think that it was invited to come closer to her. Genevieve furrowed her brow at this before feeling the dog's moist nose against her cheek. She patted the dog's back and nearly flinched when she felt the dog actually lick her. Her chin soon dripped with the dog's slobber.

"That wasn't an invitation, you know." She said to the dog, chuckling lightly. "You probably have some sort of disease or something." When Genevieve said that the dog actually whimpered against her. She looked down at it in disbelief before shaking her head subtly. "You did not just understand that. That would be impossible." _Although, nothing really is impossible,_ a voice reminded her.

The dog only looked up at her, its tail not thumping and his tongue safely inside of his mouth. "Wow," Genevieve started to the dog before shaking her head in disbelief. She continued on, sounding astonished, "maybe you did understand me then. Okay… so, can I call you… Blackie?"

The dog showed his teeth at the name, and nearly snarled, he shook his head. Though he bared his teeth, he didn't use them against her. "No, okay then…" Genevieve tried again, "Jack?" The dog didn't show her his teeth this time, but neither did he show any enthusiasm with that name. "Lucky?"

He just looked at her still, not getting excited over the name. Genevieve rolled her eyes at the dog before she finally stated to him, "Fine, I'll call you Scruffy. Forget about your opinion." She noticed how the dog moved a little bit away from her. Either because he didn't like the name or he was… insulted? Was this real right now? She was actually talking to the dog like it was a human… Well, bloody hell, it was sure _acting_ like a human.

"Gene!" Genevieve's head turned quickly toward her home with her brow raised. Her eyes narrowed to her grandmother whose head was hanging out of their window. "What're you doing out there? You have to get your trunk together for Hogwarts!"

"I was just looking at the scenery is all," Genevieve lied quickly, "I'll be inside in a bit, just have to grab my book!" Her grandmother looked at her carefully before nodding her head subtly.

"All right then, but don't be waking up late tomorrow morning. I'll be more than happy to let you miss that train!" With that, Genevieve's grandmother's head went back into the house. She let out a heavy sigh before turning back to Scruffy and standing up in her place.

Scruffy looked up at her expectantly, his tail thumping excitedly against the grass. She looked down at it with a smirk before telling it, "I have to get going, but I'll give you some scraps of leftover food we have. You have to be hungry." Then with that, Scruffy watched Genevieve leave him to go back to her house. The dog's head lowered and it was almost like there was a frown on his face, his time with her being cut a lot shorter. As he let out a whimper, he had gotten up on all fours to go to the nearby woods behind him.

Genevieve walked into her house, going into her small kitchen and taking out the bit of beef they have left over from dinner. Her grandmother was no longer in the kitchen to ask her what she was doing. For an all wizard house, they had a pretty normal kitchen. Most of it though, was enchanted. Her grandmother often had a brush or sponge charmed to wash the dishes and the dishes magically going to the sink when empty.

But if a muggle just happened upon it, they would think it to be a run of the mill kitchen, of course, without the charms and enchantments that actually would make the kitchen not look like a normal kitchen.

With a fork, she placed the bits of beef onto a plate; cutting it in somewhat smaller pieces so it could be consumed by a dog. Genevieve looked up briefly to see the sun actually setting over the horizon behind their house, how it toyed with the color of the sky, making the blue suddenly more orange and purple. She smiled softly at it before dropping the fork in the sink. She recovered the leftover meat and quietly put in the fridge before she heard someone clear their throat in the kitchen.

"What do ya think you're doing, Gene?" She turned her head to see her grandfather, Ewan Rooney, sitting at the table. He had his blonde hair sleeked back and his tired dark eyes looked at her curiously. Genevieve couldn't help but smirk at her grandfather before walking over to him. "That isn't for me, is it?" He asked her before she laid her hand on his shoulder and lightly she planted a small kiss on his forehead.

Then she said, "You didn't see anything."

"Who's that plate for?" Ewan asked his granddaughter as she took several steps away from him. She glanced down at it before shrugging her shoulders.

She answered him quietly, "An animal. The poor dog is in need of food." Ewan looked at his grandfather questionably before he slowly nodded his head understandingly. If her grandmother found out, she would kill her… and then him right after. Genevieve then was in the clear. Or so she thought. Quietly she stalked to the door that led outside, but then her grandmother's voice stopped her once she made it to the door.

"Where are you going with that, Genevieve?" Her full name, not really anyone would call her by her full name. Genevieve closed her eyes tightly, debating on turning around to see Jocelyn Rooney burn holes into her eyes. She did and when she opened her eyes, she saw her grandmother with her graying brown hair clipped back like hers. Her grandmother's pale blue eyes stared into her own and Genevieve didn't know if she should either run scared or brave it. "Outside isn't a place to eat, dear."

"I know, I met a… a friend outside and I thought he needed a bite of food." Genevieve said quickly. She noticed her grandfather shake his head at that answer. Probably wasn't the best answer that she could have come up with, but it was partly the truth.

Jocelyn looked at her with scrutiny, her eyes going from her to the plate of mushy beef Genevieve held. "A friend?"

"Yes, a friend." Genevieve answered her quickly.

"The friend meaning the stray you found outside." Jocelyn looked at her granddaughter, narrowing her eyes at her. Genevieve held her breath, and rolled her eyes, of course she knew about the dog. Her grandmother knew everything, unfortunately. "You better not be feeding that dog. It would be coming back for more."

"Now Joce—." Her grandfather started to her grandmother, only to actually be cut off by Genevieve.

"The poor dog is probably hungry, that's so cruel. I can't just let him starve to death." She said in defense.

"Gene, I don't believe you should be talking like that to your grand—."

"I don't want a stray coming to my doorstep while you're away at Hogwarts." Her grandmother promptly stated, completely ignoring Ewan's way of keeping the peace between the two of them. Ewan looked between the two women of the house before sighing deeply. Jocelyn added to her, "It probably has fleas, the filthy thing!" Irritated, Genevieve turned away from her grandmother, her eyes already rolling to the back of her head.

Out of her control, she muttered to her grandmother, "It might not come back because you can't bloody well cook." Then, in an act of rebellion (yes, to her grandmother, this would be an act of rebellion), she turned her heel, opened the back door to the house with the plate of food for the stray dog, and walked out.

Her grandmother stood in her place, frozen, shocked that she would deliberately not listen to her. "Did she just…?" She trailed off, looking to her husband for confirmation. Ewan just stared at the door for a moment before he turned his head to his wife. Instead of an answer with a nod of his head, he shrugged his shoulders and looked down to go back to the scrolls he had spread on the table.

"Just… just leave her be." Ewan said, picking up his round-rimmed glasses before putting them over his dark brown eyes. Jocelyn looked at her husband for a moment before hesitantly turning on her heel to go upstairs and check on her daughter-in-law tucked away in her own private room.

Though, outside, Genevieve stood there dumbly holding the plate of food in her hand. Her eyes scanning her grandparents' yard to see if the stray dog, Scruffy, was there waiting for her. A frown showed on her face as her eyes went to the food in her hands. She debated on how long she really should stand there for, until she let out a deep breath. It must have been a few minutes before she turned around with the food, and hesitating for a moment before doing so, placed it by the doorstep just in case.

Once she left to go inside, a young boy the same age as her stepped out of the woods. He barely wore anything, clutching at his long jacket to cover him. The boy actually found himself smirking at the plate of food and leaned against the trees. Through the window he could see Genevieve, glancing out the window before turning and talking to someone inside.

He didn't know _why_ exactly he decided to come here. But, the fact was… was that he did. Not as him, of course, that would be stupid, but as 'Scruffy' as she was so kind to name him as. He watched Genevieve carefully before taking a step back… and then he took another step back. Then when he saw her step away from the window, out of his plain sight, Sirius Black turned around, crouching down to grab his discarded shirt. He then proceeded to walk away to go back to the Potter house, which wasn't too far at all.

* * *

_**So… what do you all think? Please, please, please with a cherry on top leave a review, I reply to all of them :) Thank you for reading! Oh, and if you are interested in this story, I do have a Facebook page which has sneak peeks, face characters, and yeah. So if you want to join the fun, it's just a click on my profile page on here :). **_


	2. The Role of a Mother

_**Wow, I got a good response from the prologue that I didn't expect. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorited the story! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. There is a lot of background information in it though about the Rooneys and Gene, who are they and what not. I also forgot to mention that the Prologue took place after Chapter One, like a year after. It probably is clear now with the date at the top. **_

_**Once again, thank you to everyone who showed their support already! Hope you enjoy the new chapter!**_

* * *

_Chapter One.  
__The Role of a Mother._

**September 1****st****, 1976. The Rooney House, 1:02 AM**

"Gene."

"Hmm?" She hummed sleepily, not even opening her eyes to see who had intruded on her slumber. Her brown hair was in a messy bun and was really the only thing the intruder was able to see of her. Her younger brother, Alden Rooney, stared at her before nudging her shoulder gently to get her up. "If it's not time to get up, I would like to stay _asleep_."

"I can't sleep." Alden replied, twiddling with his thumbs before looking up at his sister, who finally cracked an eye open. The eye looked her brother up and down, noticing his dirty blonde hair was askew and his tired eyes having what looked to be crust around them. Alden looked like he just woke up rather than not being able to sleep. Genevieve turned around on her back, both of her eyes now open and an annoyed look beginning to settle on her face. "Mum is sleeping, so I decided to come to you."

Genevieve sighed heavily. "I was sleeping." Her brother would rather disturb her slumber though. She would rather disturb her own slumber than actually wake the banshee hidden in the house's back room. There was also their grandmother and her grandfather, but he cared too much to wake them up. "And even if mum was awake she wouldn't want you in the same bed as her."

Her brother looked at her dumbly before asking, "What?"

"Nothing," Genevieve dismissed her own words before she moved in her bed to allow her brother some room, assuming that was the reason why he came to her in the first place. Her brother looked down at the spot left for him before climbing in and settling in next to his older sister. "You know," she started to him, her voice sounding less and less sleepy as she acknowledged him. She folded her hands over her lap before continuing, "this was cute before you were eleven. Now, it's kind of weird."

Her brother didn't reply to her right away. She looked over to see her brother lying down uncomfortably next to her. Genevieve frowned down at him. "I had a nightmare." She heard her brother nearly murmur to her, his light brown eyes looking up at the ceiling. Genevieve took a deep breath before turning her head slightly.

"You shouldn't be having nightmares, kid." Genevieve told her brother, trying to smirk down at him. It was September 1st; a child who was a wizard should not be having nightmares on September 1st, especially an 11-year-old boy. "You're going to Hogwarts in the morning. You should be excited." She tried to say, but she knew that if she were a child now, Hogwarts would be the last thing on her mind. She would want to go to a regular school. It was _different_ nowadays. There were no threats to muggle-borns and blood traitors, like them. She didn't have to worry about that when she was eleven.

Alden looked up at her incredulously, "That's not what I woke up from." Genevieve furrowed her brow at him confused before she looked up at the ceiling again, her lips pulling up slightly before looking back down at him. He told her, "I'm excited for Hogwarts."

"Then what's up, Al? You haven't had a nightmare since…" she trailed off, her eyes closing for a moment. She barely could bring herself to even _mention_ that time. It was a frightening time. She remembered everything that happened a year ago before her fifth year of school started. Her brother was ten, she just turned fifteen, and her mother was already at her breaking point. Her father's death just pushed it over the line.

Her brother didn't answer her. His eyes actually looked at the window across from her bed. Genevieve found herself frowning even deeper and she put a comforting arm around her brother, bringing his small body close to hers. It was probably the kindest thing she had done for him since their father had died last year. After that, they had gone back to normal, she was teasing him over trivial things and he was being an annoying pest like her cousin. He got being a sneaky, annoying pest _from_ her cousin_. _

They were silent, just lying there in their own thoughts. They didn't need to talk about it. In fact, Genevieve would rather not talk about it with him. It was hard accepting her father's death as it was. She couldn't imagine how difficult it was for Alden though to accept it.

Her father was a high profile Auror, not the head of the Auror department, but he, next to Alastor Moody, was definitely known. Genevieve often was kept in the dark with what he really did when he captured a few Death Eaters, but it came out once he died. There was an article in the _Daily Prophet, _unknown sources coming out to bring out what apparently her father had done to get more information on the Death Eaters and… You-Know-Who.

She knew it all to be codswallop, but her brother and her mother seemed able enough to believe it. Her brother though didn't understand it as well as her mother did. The fact that she believed her husband, Genevieve's father, was even _capable_ of incanting curses, _illegal and forbidden_ curses, stooping down to the level of the Death Eaters he fought was complete and utter _shit_. And it was true it was complete and utter _shit_.

Her grandparents didn't believe that her son was capable of it… or she at least thought that they thought he wasn't capable of it. They didn't express their opinion of the gossip surrounding Samuel Rooney; they were only concerned with the fact that they had to bury a son before them.

"Should I be afraid to go to Hogwarts?" Alden asked, breaking the silence between them. Genevieve took a deep breath before faking a smile toward her brother.

She shook her head no. Not only to convince him, but to convince herself. Her grandparents almost weren't going to _send_ her to Hogwarts this year. Everything was getting worse and there were a lot of other pureblood families putting thoughts into their children's heads that made her almost allow them to take her out. Avery, Mulciber, and… and Lily would kill her for this (even after their little _incident_), Severus Snape, were all people who came to her mind immediately. The Carrow twins who were fifth year Slytherins, along with Regulus Black, also were trouble. But, besides them, Hogwarts was a great and magical place.

"It's the safest place now," Genevieve told her brother truthfully. Alden, though slightly feeling depressed at the moment, smiled up at her at the sound of her words. "I mean, there are dangerous people there, don't get me wrong." She told him honestly, not really wanting to give her brother this fantasy that Hogwarts was full of chocolate frogs and unicorns. Alden's smile almost faltered when the words left her mouth and immediately Genevieve regretted them. She tried to reassure him though, "But… we have the _best_ wizard on our side, nothing will happen to you with him around."

"Who—?"

"Albus Dumbledore, of course." Genevieve cut him off immediately, thinking that was a stupid question before he even asked it. Everyone knew who Albus Dumbledore was, _seriously_, everyone did. Alden then mouthed a 'oh', understanding now. "Then, not only do we have him, but you, unfortunately, have a Marauder as a cousin… so that could be good, I guess."

"James will stick up for me?"

"I don't think that he won't, he might just do stupid things to you like give you the wrong directions to your classes or hex your friends, but that's about it. If you're having trouble, I'm sure he'll be there to help."

"He wouldn't do those things to me though." Alden said, shaking his head in denial. But Genevieve wouldn't be surprised that he would. James Potter did hex first years and played pranks. Over the summer, _this_ summer, he and his best friend played a prank on her while her, Alden, and her grandparents decided to visit them. She would rather _not_ talk about it. It was still a sore spot in her memory.

Instead of saying something sarcastic or saying something along the lines of 'he would', she shrugged her shoulders. She didn't expand on the topic of James any longer. "And, if he has your back, I'm sure the rest of his lot will have yours." She _was_ friends with them anyway, so she didn't see why they wouldn't take care of her little brother if he ever were in trouble. "You also have me. If anyone touches a little hair on your head, I will personally kick their arses. Okay?"

"That still doesn't answer my question, Gene." Alden was kind enough to actually say. Genevieve raised her brow up before looking down at him.

"Right, what was it again?" She asked him, she was going on and on about how Hogwarts was safe, but not really, but still safe enough for him to go to and she didn't even bother with the question at hand.

"Should I be afraid to go to Hogwarts?"

Oh, he was supposed to get the answer from that long answer. Genevieve smirked down at him, "No, somewhere in that you were supposed to somehow get that answer."

"Where was I s—?"

"It doesn't matter now, does it? You have your answer." And with that, Genevieve closed her eyes. Not really caring if her brother stayed with her or not, September 1st was always a long day and she needed rest. However, a part of her knew that she wasn't going to get it so easily.

Alden spoke up again, "I'm going to be in Gryffindor, right?" Genevieve cracked open an eye to look at her brother's hopeful face. Another… another stupid question, if Genevieve wasn't wry right now, she would have her brother's head decapitated and on a stick. Actually that was a bit extreme.

"I have no doubts that you are going to be in Gryffindor." She said to him slowly, going to close her eyes again. But, her brother caught her.

Alden said, "But mum was in Hufflepuff." Yeah, and she still didn't understand how the woman got herself sorted in there. Her mother was hardly a Hufflepuff right now.

"Yes, but I am in Gryffindor, your father was in Gryffindor, your grandparents _were_ both in Gryffindor, and your other grandfather who we don't talk about often was also in Gryffindor. We come from a long line of Gryffidors, mum is just the black sheep of the family."

"What if I am in Hufflepuff?"

"Trust me, you're not going to be in Hufflepuff." He was too much like the Rooney and Potter family to go into Hufflepuff.

"Ravenclaw?" Alden asked her curiously. Genevieve, in response, just looked at him incredulously. Her boyfriend, Zachary Jergens, was in that house. He canceled their meet-ups sometimes just so he would be able to study for a class. Her brother… was definitely not like that. If he was, he was hiding it all of these years in that thick head of his. He wasn't studious, if anything, Genevieve was more studious than he was, aside from her procrastination she _did_ get mostly high grades. She did exceptionally on her O.W.L. exams, much better than a lot of others in her family and even took on ridiculous classes like Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. But, there were obvious reasons as to why she didn't end up in Ravenclaw. Procrastination, temper, and… her bravery (but she didn't think she really had that), the Ravenclaw house was full of people who were book smart.

She chuckled lightly at her brother, "You're joking, right? It took you seven years to count to a hundred. There is no way you'll be sorted in a house that studies all the time."

"Zach is in that house."

"That's because he studies all the time. The way to get in the common room is by riddle. You barely could tie your shoes right."

Alden laughed softly at that, making the smirk on Genevieve's face somewhat grow. His laugh sounded a lot like her father's. But soon the laughing stopped and then Alden asked her a far more serious question. "What if… I get sorted into Slytherin?" _Slytherin_. Genevieve's smirk slipped off at the mention of the house and she shifted next to her brother. Just the name of it made her uncomfortable.

But, to keep the lighthearted mood, she looked down at him and said, "You'll be disowned." A look came over on Alden's face, a look that was crossed between hurt and confusion. But the look was suddenly gone when he heard laughter leave Genevieve's mouth. She brought her smirk back, "That's a joke, Al."

"Yeah… yeah, I knew that." Alden brought a nervous smile on his face, forcibly laughing at the little 'joke' that wasn't funny at all, in his opinion. He was being serious. Genevieve's laughter soon stopped before Alden actually stated, "You wouldn't hate me, right?"

Genevieve looked down at her brother curiously. Why would he even think he would be considered for Slytherin? He wasn't even like the other people in that house… or she thought he wasn't. There was a very thin line that separated a Slytherin and a Gryffindor. A very, _very_ thin line, since they were… sort of similar, she would admit. What was that thin line? She had no idea, but… whatever it was, her brother didn't pass it. He didn't have a green bone in his body.

Genevieve answered him after a beat, thinking quietly to herself. Not really about the answer, it was more about the idea of her brother being there. It would be absurd. "No, I wouldn't hate you. But that isn't going to happen, Al. You're nothing like the people in that house."

"You sure?" He asked her, stifling back a yawn. His eyes fluttered and were teary as he looked up Genevieve. She frowned down at him before nodding her head reluctantly. What was with these questions? Was her brother secretly part of the pureblood supremacy and was about to tell her? No… he understood enough to know that kind of people had killed her father. "Positive?"

"Positive." Genevieve said to him softly, rubbing his shoulder. She looked forward blankly before she felt her brother actually turn over on his side. She looked over at him with her brow furrowed before taking her arm back. Why in the world was he so concerned over that? He knew, just as well as she knew, that it was impossible (well, _improbable_) for him to be sorted in Slytherin. How could he be? And the fact that he asked her if she was sure, _absolutely sure_, if she wouldn't hate him if he were ever sorted into Slytherin, was also out of the norm.

Genevieve took the covers that weren't already bunched up in Alden's clutches, bringing it up slowly as she turned on her side so she could face her wall. Now up, she felt like she was wide-awake. But she closed her eyes anyway, trying to let herself sleep so that she could be well rested for tomorrow.

* * *

"Do you have everything?" She heard her grandmother say behind her to Alden as her and her grandfather walked ahead of them side by side in King's Cross Station. Genevieve couldn't help but roll her eyes, pushing her cart with her trunks and barn owl, Romeo. Once her barn owl heard her huff, he swiveled his head to look over at her curiously. Romeo had deep brown eyes and his feathers were also dark, flecked with white spots around its eyes. Romeo also had a small, pale orange beak.

Her grandfather, with his usual bright smile and his dark eyes twinkling almost as if she amused him, turned to look over at Genevieve. "Genevieve, do _you_ have everything?"

"Yes, thank you for asking." She said with a nod of her head. She smirked over at her grandfather. She threw a glance behind her shoulder to see her grandma with her arm over her brother's shoulders and leading him the way without even looking up to see where she was going. Genevieve turned her head to look forward, something in her swirled. It wasn't from looking at her grandmother; it was the fact that someone wasn't here with them.

She tried not the grit her teeth at the known fact her mother wasn't there with them, but it was something that she couldn't help. Ewan looked at his granddaughter almost now with concern, seeing her annoyed expression. "You and grandma shouldn't have to bring him here on his first day." Genevieve stated to Ewan, glancing over at him quickly before stopping in between platforms 9 and 10.

Ewan responded by putting his arm around Genevieve, a comforting arm. "We wouldn't miss it for the world. We wanted to see him go." Really? They didn't see her go. That was something that one did with their _parents_. She wasn't being bitter, she was happy that her grandparents wanted to play that role, but they shouldn't have to play it. They had a parent still wallowing in her sorrows that could have taken him.

Instead of bringing this up, Genevieve shrugged her shoulders. "You… you didn't see me go. I think I know who might be the favorite grandkid now." She said, casually looking away from Ewan innocently and gripping the handle of her cart tightly. Ewan chuckled lightly, shaking one of her shoulders before kissing her dark hair gently. But her grandfather wasn't an idiot. He most likely knew, or at least had the feeling, that Genevieve knew why they came, seeing that their mother wasn't here.

Her brother though? Ewan didn't know if he had any idea. He might have been old enough to know that something was strange about it, but he also may have not seen it clearly. Jocelyn and Alden came up next to them. Alden stared at the brick wall wryly. Ewan's arm dropped from Genevieve's shoulders before he moved to Alden. She glanced over to see both Jocelyn and Ewan put their arms around Alden comfortingly. It was almost like they had completely forgotten about her.

Genevieve couldn't help but clear her throat to bring some of the attention to her. Jocelyn narrowed her eyes at her before saying, "Well? What're you waiting for? We'll be right behind you."

"I thought that maybe you would want to go before me." Genevieve stated to her like it was obvious. She didn't receive a response back. Her grandmother shook her head at her before moving it quickly, gesturing it toward the brick wall. Genevieve rolled her eyes, "Well, I guess I could go before Al."

She moved a bit forward before glancing over at her brother. "See you on the other side." With a wink and a careful look around, Genevieve prepared herself to have her usual running start. Her hands tightened on her cart, her eyes narrowed, her back crouched like a lion preparing to catch a prey, and then finally Genevieve broke out in a small jog to the brick wall. Out of habit, her head ducked down and her eyes closed as she braced the brick wall.

Then, as Genevieve rolled her cart onto the hard floor, she opened her eyes to see the familiar sign that said '9 ¾'. She smiled up at it as she pushed her cart forward. Romeo flourished his wings for a moment in his cage, rattling it. She stopped pushing her cart next to the grand Hogwarts Express, her eyes following the length for a brief moment. "Gene!"

Her smile immediately turned into a smirk as she turned around to see one of her best friends dressed in the finest of muggle clothing that she had ever seen. "Well, if it isn't Lily Evans?" Lily Evans was her first friend at Hogwarts. They had met in an empty compartment before her rude cousin appeared and made fun of (without even meeting him first) Severus Snape. Though, Snape took an immediate dislike to her (the feeling was really mutual), once Genevieve stated to Lily that James Potter is uglier than a hog, they became friends. She still remembered the day that they met clearly.

Before she knew it, Genevieve was brought into a hug by the red head. She awkwardly held out her arms before she hugged Lily back, giggling. Once Lily moved away from her, Gene said, "Long time no see?"

"You were supposed to come over before school started, remember?" Lily said to her. Genevieve furrowed her brow confused before she took her knapsack that held her robes inside of it. She moved the cart carrying her owl and her trunk toward the other side of the train. "And you _didn't._" Lily added to her, following Gene as she pushed her carefully down. "We, in fact, didn't see each other _all_ summer. Where have you been?"

"You know, here and there, _around_. I was busy all summer." She replied, trying to sound honest. She kept up with the letters, writing all the things she was doing, all the places she was… when she really didn't do anything. Sure, she _met_ Lily, Dorcas, and Marlene places and she actually didn't _know_ what Lily was talking about not seeing her all summer, but it wasn't often. She saw Zach over the summer, flooing to actually his house instead of hers. But that wasn't often either.

What was it with her this summer? She had no idea, but she didn't have any motivation to see people. She saw James a couple of times, but that was because they live close to the Potter mansion. She even saw Sirius Black a couple of times, but he was always with James. In Lily's mind, Genevieve must have looked suddenly anti-social. "Well, next year, I'm not even asking for you to stay a week or so. You're being forced to." Lily said to her with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Yeah, yeah, you said that last year." Genevieve teased her, stopping at the luggage department to drop it off. Lily looked at her carefully, before helping her remove the straps of the trunk. Genevieve saw the wizard charm her trunk before making it float into the air. Gene picked up Romeo's cage, cooing at him for a moment and sticking her hand inside. She gently stroked underneath the owl's chin before bringing his cage to the older wizard. "Make sure he's taken care of, please."

The older wizard only nodded to her. Genevieve slung her knapsack over her shoulder that only carried her book and robes. "Who's in charge of getting the compartment this year?"

"I have a prefect meeting," Lily said, trying to sound responsible. Genevieve glanced over at her before continuing on her way back to the brick wall to meet her brother. "But according to Marlene, she is getting it for us."

It took her a moment before stating, "She isn't. Did you tell Dorcas to do it?"

"Of course I did. Marlene is just going to get distracted along the way." Lily told her. "Where's your brother? It's his first year, right?"

Genevieve nodded her head, looking around curiously to see if Alden was anywhere in sight. Unfortunately for her, she didn't see him or her grandparents. "I have no idea," she answered Lily honestly, her eyes still scanning the platform for any sign of her brother. Maybe her grandparents paired him off with a buddy already to sit with on the train. But that wouldn't happen that quickly, would it?

"Oh… well, if he has no where to sit, he could always sit with us. We've always liked your brother. He's a sweet kid." Her brother would have done two flips of joy right in front of them if he were there to hear her. The thought of her brother actually flipping made her almost chuckle out loud. Out of all of her friends, Lily was the favorite of her brother's. She was his first crush when he was nine.

"He's not going to want to sit with us." Genevieve told her honestly. "He likes you guys, really, he does, but he's an 11-year-old boy. I was going to find some lonely first years and make them become friends."

"Well, he might have found some first years and became friends with them already." Lily said to her, having the same thought that passed through her head. "Besides, I don't think that he would like you to introduce him to kids. That would be just as embarrassing as him sitting with us." She added logically on. Genevieve thought for a moment, before subtly nodding her head at that. That would make sense. If she had an older sibling at Hogwarts, she wouldn't want him or her introducing her to other first years.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Is Zach going to sit with us?" She asked her with her eyebrow rising curiously.

"If there's room for him," Gene stated to her. "Sometimes Potter and his idiot friends enjoy invading our compartment, so I didn't know if there would be room."

Lily chuckled at her, "Who cares about them? We eventually kick them out anyway."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But he might be uncomfortable with that. You never know with him." Gene tried to say, her eyes still scanning around to see if she would find her brother somewhere. Unfortunately, she still didn't see him along the platform. She caught a glimpse of her grandparents, though.

"Is there something going on between you two?" Lily suddenly asked, her thoughts immediately going to the worse scenario in her head. Genevieve raised her brow, unsure of what she might mean. Lily tried to elaborate on the question. "Like, did something happen over the holiday that you haven't told me?"

"No, nothing happened!" Genevieve said quickly and loudly, making Lily still question whether or not something did. "If something did, I would've told you by now."

"Well, I'm just asking. You never know," Lily replied to her, shrugging her shoulders. "Well, he's welcome to come and sit with us. You can even go to sit with his friends if you're uncomfortable having us around him."

"I am _not_ uncomfortable having him around you all, and I hate all of his friends." Gene stated to her, tilting her head slightly as she admitted that. "They're all… arrogant. Especially that Lockhart fifth year, I want to punch him out one of these days."

Lily was about to respond to that when they heard someone call Lily's name from behind. Lily groaned almost immediately after and just as the name 'Lily-flower' was called again. She looked over at Gene quickly, "I'll see you after the prefect meeting, okay?" Genevieve didn't even have the time to nod to her since Lily left so quickly. Genevieve glanced over before walking toward the train's doors and before she knew it, she felt someone's arm drape across her shoulders.

"Oi, what has gotten over her?"

"You, apparently." She replied quickly to James before seeing a glimpse of her brother, sticking his head out of the train already. He had gotten on before her? That was strange.

"I finally got under her skin, brilliant!" James stated excitedly as Genevieve stepped onto the train. She glanced over at her cousin before ducking under his arm, moving it away from her so that _he_ would get away from her.

"That usually isn't a good thing."

"Every action from her towards me is a good thing. It gives me hope." James defended himself weakly, earning himself a roll of Gene's eyes before she decided to turn on her heel and walk to her brother's compartment, thinking that maybe, _just maybe,_ she would be able to find it.

Genevieve shook her head before stating, "False hope." She walked slowly forward, hoping that he would leave her alone now.

James Potter unfortunately was her cousin, the cousin that she never wished to have. He was also one of the Marauders of Gryffindor. The troublemakers in their house, the pranksters, the four best friends who were inseparable. It was James, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Sometimes the pranks were funny, she would get a kick out of them, but other times, they went too far. It was always the ideas though of Sirius and James that went a little too far. Peter and Remus only go along for the ride, in her opinion.

But, honestly, they were tolerable. Remus and Peter being the most tolerable, and considered by her as friends. Sirius Black was the womanizer. She still never forgave him for breaking the heart of a third year in their fifth year. It would have been okay any other time, but _she_ had to console the poor girl because she happened to be there. She wasn't good at comforting even her own friends. Marlene forbade herself going to her for comfort because she was too honest, so… no she was not a good comforter when talking was involved.

She did, somehow, manage to get almost over it while visiting the Potters with her family. "Where ya going?" James asked her. She only just realized that he was following her. Genevieve glanced in the compartments as she passed them, not answering him. "Your big-mouthed boyfriend is on the other side of the train, Rooney."

"That's not who I'm looking for."

"Then who are you looking for?" James persisted, glancing in the compartments now also to see if he could find a familiar face. Dorcas and Marlene were also on the other side of the train.

Genevieve huffed annoyed, "None of your business, James."

"If it's my favorite Rooney then it _is_ my business, I have to have the word with the kid." James told her seriously. With that, Genevieve stopped in her tracks, glaring at James with narrowed slits. She knew exactly what _the word_ was and he wasn't going to say it to him. Not after what she went through last night with her brother, asking her all of those questions about the houses. He was paranoid, and James was about to make him more paranoid.

"You're the last person he probably wants to see right now." Genevieve told him harshly.

"Are you kidding? I'm Al's favorite relative! He practically looks up to me."

"Yeah, and I don't know why." She muttered, really to herself. She never understood her brother's fascination with James and really, Sirius. He admired them for some reason and they weren't people to really admire. James didn't really catch her comment. She said to him louder, "I know what _the_ _word_ you want to have with him is, and you are not going to tell him what your father and my father told me when I was starting out at Hogwarts." _'The Rooneys and the Potters are from a long line of Gryffindors. We don't want that lineage to be ruined.' _It probably wasn't something like that, but it was along the lines of that. Genevieve remembered how worried she was about not getting into the house; she practically cried tears of joy when the Sorting Hat shouted Gryffindor.

"Oh, come on, Vieve," he was the only one that called her 'Vieve' and it bloody pissed her off, "Al is not like you. He would appreciate that his favorite relative cares about him."

"I think you should just leave him alone and let him make friends on the train. Besides, where are your friends? They finally came to their senses and left you friendless?"

"Remus is at the prefect meeting, Peter is already looking for the candy trolley, and Sirius is chasing after Rowena Walker for a quick snog. I was going to see what you were doing until we all assemble."

"Assemble?" It sounded like it was from one of those muggle comic books that her brother had gotten from their grandfather for Christmas. She thought that she saw James actually reading it once when their families had gotten together. "You've been reading my brother's only muggle comic book, haven't you?"

"The muggles are really creative." James sheepishly admitted to her. "Who knew that their idea of wizards is men in tight pants and underwear shooting fire from their eyes?"

"They're not… they're not… they aren't wizards, James. They call them superheroes since they have superpowers." James stared at her puzzled for a moment, going through what she said in that head of his. For someone who did so well in Muggle Studies, he still didn't have a clue about them (not that she did, too. But having two friends as Muggle-borns kind of helped her a bit).

"Seems someone has been reading it, too, eh, Vieve?" James said, waggling his eyebrows at her.

She scowled, hissing, "Don't call me that, you prat. You know that I don't like it." Now, she felt the train moving under their feet. She grabbed the nearest open door to keep her balance in the aisle. Though it was difficult to keep her balance after the sudden jolt, she managed to keep a scowl on her face. James still had the same smirk on. He really didn't care what she thought, did he? She should be used to this by now.

"Not my fault that you have a long name like Genevieve. What would you like me to call you?"

"Oh, there's Gene, Geney, and Genevieve, pick _one_." She retorted back to him, shifting slightly in the aisle to let someone walk pass them.

"They're all so dull. I like Vieve."

"If you call me Vieve, I will take top priority to call you Jimmy."

"Do it, I don't care!" James nearly shouted, but Genevieve knew just how much he hated being called _Jimmy_. The moment she would do it, she knew that it would mean that she would be his first target for pranking. One year, when she was particularly sneakier and meaner, she told a Slytherin to call him that if they ever wanted to piss him off. She couldn't believe that he actually did it. James had never hexed someone like he had to Snape, until _that_ day.

Who did she do that to again? It had to be fourth year, at least.

A crooked grin, albeit a little shock that he said that, came onto Gene's face. "Fine then, Jim—."

An arm going around her waist cut her off, but the arm wasn't familiar. James' face broke into a slight grin. "Children," started Sirius Black, his hand resting on top of Genevieve's hip. She glanced over at him, gritting her teeth, her grin being wiped off. "Haven't I told you not to fight in the middle of the train?"

"Get off me, Black." She nearly sneered to him.

"I'm just being responsible, love." Sirius stated to her, feigning concern. He looked over at James before winking at him. "And caring for my two greatest friends in the world, see, this could have been really bad and result in either one of your deaths."

James' hand landed on Sirius' shoulder. "And we must thank you for being the responsible adult here, Padfoot. Who knows what Rooney would've done to me?" Genevieve crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at James into a glare that James thought would burn him down into ash.

"The day Sirius becomes a 'responsible adult' is the day pigs would fly." Genevieve commented, immediately regretting it. They wouldn't get the phrase just spoken to them.

Sirius' eyebrows perked at that and he looked between her and James. He stated to Genevieve, "I could make pigs fly." Genevieve shook her head at him, scoffing at his comment. Swiftly, she took the hand on her hip and pried it off of her, stepping away from him. "Aw, Gene, don't be like that. We were just getting comfortable."

"If you two excuse me, I have to go see my brother."

"Vieve, take your own advice and stop worrying about your brother." James finally stated to her, taking her by the arm and forcing her to walk the other way. Genevieve looked up at him abruptly as she felt herself being dragged by him. "Let him make friends. The last thing he wants is his older sister embarrassing him like you are."

"He's my brother!" She defended herself.

"And you would just ruin his rep by showing up in a compartment and acting like his mother like you do all the time." Sirius said, not thinking completely about what was coming out of his mouth. Genevieve and James stopped to look over at him. Gene's hand was already inching toward her knapsack that also contained her wand inside. Sirius glared over at them confused. Dumbfounded, he asked, "What?"

"That's low, mate." James said, surprising Genevieve. Sirius looked between them, still uncertain over what he just said. It wasn't really a secret any more about Gene's mother being neglectful after her husband's death, but it was slightly a shock for some people. Gene took over the 'mum' role once her mother, Miranda, almost ceased to exist in her eyes. Genevieve soon saw the slight understanding on Sirius' face now. Though, the statement did bother her, she knew that the fact that James said it was 'low' could have bothered him. Sirius' family life was the definition of neglect. She, or James really, shouldn't really talk, especially since Sirius was living with the Potters now.

And, not to mention, Sirius was once in her position too with his own brother. She didn't know what, or how, Sirius would react to James' response, but she felt the need to say something. "No, that's not low at all." Genevieve told James. Protectively, she felt James' arm tighten around hers. It was strange how they would be fighting and then he would rush to her protection just like that. She glanced over at Sirius, before turning to James. She barely noticed the expression on Sirius' face. "He's right. I would just be embarrassing him if I do that. I'm, uh, I'm not Al's mother or anything." I act like it though, she thought.

"Gene, you sure?" James asked her. He sounded almost shocked that she didn't go off on Sirius. She had a temper and it was often set off with little things. She shrugged her shoulders before gently taking James' hand off of her arm. She, however, had to pry it off of her arm. There was no reason for her to be upset about it anyway. It wasn't a good situation, sure, but Sirius was most likely joking.

"Am I sure I'm not his mother?" Genevieve brought a grin on his face, but it wavered a bit. She tried to keep her tone light, jokingly stating, "Of course I am, James. I'm pretty sure Al didn't come out of me." Genevieve could've sworn she heard Sirius guffaw at that, but she wasn't quite sure. James looked almost astonished that she turned the serious moment into a joking moment. "Now, if you boys excuse me," she then walked a little bit more ahead of them. Sirius and James stared after her, astonished and dumbstruck at Gene's sudden attitude.

Turning around, with what looked to be a fake, bright grin, she continued to them, "I have to find Zach."

James said to her uncertainly, "Good for you?"

"You're still with big lips?" Sirius asked her.

"Shut up, Sirius!" Genevieve retorted, turning back around to walk away from them. She wasn't exactly sure if that was what he said, but that was something that he would say. Zachary, by the way, did _not_ have big lips. He only had a wide mouth and thin, very thin lips.

"Tell Zach we're going to kick Ravenclaw arses when you see him!" James added on as she walked away from her. He stuffed his hands in his jean pockets after putting a hand through his untidy dark hair. He looked over at Sirius who was actually staring after Gene. "Hey, Padfoot." To the nickname, Sirius looked to James. His infamous smirk already coming onto his face. "Do you want to scare the wits out of my cousin before finding a compartment?"

"Our favorite Rooney?"

"Our favorite Rooney." James stated, trying to match the smirk on Sirius' face. He took a hand out of his pocket to push his glasses further up his nose. The smirk on Sirius' face just happened to grow.

* * *

_**I could have gone longer, but sometimes people get overwhelmed with long chapters (my chapters are usually long anyway though). So, liked it? Hated it? Let me know with a review :) as I said I reply to all of them! Thanks for reading!**_


	3. The Black Sheep

_**Hello! Thank you for all the support I've received from last chapter! It means a lot to see that many of you are enjoying it so far. So, I hope you do enjoy the second chapter just as much! And don't mind the awful Sorting Hat song I actually attempted, it really is bad. I sang it out loud and it was… gosh, it really was bad, so you can just skip that song… Lol. But enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

_Chapter Two.  
__The Black Sheep._

"Firs' years!" Shouted a tall half-giant at the end of Hogwarts station stood waving a large lantern, his long brown hair covered his shoulders and his long beard covering half of his body. The sandy-haired boy with his arm over Genevieve's shoulder, stepped off the train, his thin lips were pulled into a wide smile as his light green eyes scanned the other Hogwarts students coming off the train. One of the students that caught his eye was 7th year Gryffindor, Piper Brenan, who was standing with her long blonde hair covering half of her back. "Firs' years!" Hagrid, the half-giant repeated, waving his large lantern.

Genevieve looked over at her boyfriend, her eyebrows knitting together as they catch the messed up knot of his blue and silver tie. She smirked over at him, "For someone so smart, you should really learn how to tie a tie in the mirror." Zachary Jergens looked down at her, being a few inches taller than her, before glancing down at his tie. He saw that half of it was caught in his button down shirt underneath his jumper while the knot was crooked.

They both stopped in their places before Genevieve turned on her heel to face him. Zach's arm slowly fell from her shoulders as her hands went to go fix it. "Here, let me." The moment her hands touched the tie, Zach took both of his to quickly place them on top of hers.

"No, don't do it, please." Zach said to her, giving her a slight nod and keeping a smile on his face. Gene's lips pulled into a frown as he lowered her hands gently down. "I think I can manage on my own."

"Well, I was just trying to help," Genevieve said to him, sounding bemused. She awkwardly crossed her arms over her chest.

Zach tried to keep his smile before stating, "I know you were, but you're my girlfriend, not my mother." To show her that he could do it on his own, he attempted to fix it. "You shouldn't have to fix my tie." And with that said, he twisted the knot so that it wasn't half in his shirt and tried to position the tie in the center. Genevieve tried her best to hold her tongue when she noticed it still to be crooked, not only that but his collar was slightly up due to him fixing it.

She swallowed what she had to say before stating to him, "If you say so." Zach didn't notice her clipped tone, so as if everything was all right, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, letting her body lean into him, before they both headed toward the carriages.

"We're supposed to meet everyone by the stairs," Zach told her. Gene raised her brow, but didn't ask about who they were meeting, her eyes looking for her younger brother among the first years. She kind of felt bad not looking for him on the train, she should have never listened to James and Sirius. Zach added to her, "And then we'll grab a carriage together. How's that?"

When Genevieve couldn't find her brother, she looked over to Zach, "Who are we sitting with again? Or did you never say?"

"I never said…" Zach started to her, sounding puzzled. "I just assumed that you knew."

"Apparently, I don't." Gene said to him with a shrug of her shoulders, making Zach stop in his place. "Are we going to be with my friends or your friends?"

"Well, I thought that maybe you would want to sit with my friends," Zach pointed out to her, his frown deepening. Genevieve tried not to clench her jaw, so she looked away from him. She sat with his friends the whole entire train ride, it would have been nice if she had time with Lily, Marlene, and Dorcas before the feast. She tried to make the best of her time on the train, but really, it was the longest train ride to Hogwarts so far. When she had a smile on her face, she was secretly imagining all of their deaths in her head, and she was the one who would be committing the murders.

When Zach finally looked at her, _really_ looked at her, he noticed how her face contorted with the thought. "What's the matter with you?"

"Well, I've sat with them the whole train ride," Genevieve said to him like it was obvious. "I mean, they are all good people, don't get me wrong," _but they are annoying,_ "but I barely have seen Marlene and Dorcas, and Lily I haven't seen since I boarded the train. It would be _nice_ if I stayed with them for a bit. I barely saw them all summer."

"And I hardly have seen you all summer." Zach stated to her, his hand gripping her arm, tugging it to the side to pull her. Genevieve carefully looked around her before she allowed him to do so. "You barely have even sent an owl to me all summer."

"I wrote to you every week and I don't think that you've noticed that my life hasn't been the best right now," Genevieve nearly hissed to him, her lips pulling into a scowl. "And you know that I've made efforts, and if it weren't for those efforts than you really wouldn't have seen me all summer. You didn't make any." At that, Zachary tilted his head up at her, his eyes looking down at her.

He started to her, "We're not going to talk about this now."

"No, we're not." Gene said to him, her scowl disappearing, but she did keep a hard look on her face. "Because you don't want to have a scene."

"And you actually want to cause a scene, is that it?" Zach asked her, his brow furrowing. His hand fell from her arm as Genevieve's face visibly softened. She didn't _want_ to cause a scene. He was right, this didn't need to be in front of everyone else before they would go to the feast. Gene noticed how he bit his bottom lip before he said to her, "You aren't the only one of the two of us whose life isn't perfect, Gene. I have my own issues and you _knew_ that."

Genevieve swallowed thickly before nodding her head to him, knowing full well. "I'm sor—."

"Don't be sorry," Zach said to her, his voice sounding almost cold. "Just… don't go there again… about last summer, okay?"

"Yeah… yeah, okay." She muttered before looking down at the steps they were to go down. They didn't need to talk about his summer, he was right. She expected too much of him while he, himself, was going through a rough time. Genevieve took a deep breath before gripping his hand within hers, giving it a slight squeeze. Zach, gulping at her touch, turned to look at her before she stated to him with a forced smile, "It's going to be _our_ year this year, all right?"

Zach actually smiled down at her, not forcibly though. He laid a hand on top of theirs before nodding his head, "Yeah, it will be."

"And, if you want me to sit with your friends… again today," it was almost painful for her to say, but she found herself actually nodding to him. She closed her eyes for a moment before admitting, "I'd be… more than happy to."

Zach looked his girlfriend up and down, an amused glint passed through his eyes as he actually saw her grimace at her own words. He chuckled before removing one of his hands from her to gently place one underneath her chin to tilt it up. He said to her, "No, no you wouldn't be." Genevieve seemed confused before she felt Zach actually kiss her gently and quickly before dropping his hand to his side. "I know you wouldn't be."

"I will be, I like them." She said to him, trying to keep the smile on her face. Zach looked at her carefully and she continued to look at him expectantly. "So… are we going to go? Or are we going to just stare at each other?"

"We're going to go." Zach said to her, beginning to go down the stair, his hand still gripping at hers tightly as Genevieve slowly followed in his footsteps.

* * *

"This will be the second to last time that we will be sitting together at this table on September 1st." Marlene McKinnon stated, looking at all of her friends. Marlene's blonde hair was pulled back and her green eyes, though vibrant, held a certain kind of sadness within them. Next to her, Dorcas Meadowes raised her brow, her blue eyes looking at Marlene up and down as she held her head up with her hand, her elbow being on top of the table.

Dorcas said to Marlene, "We have one more year left, why are you sounding so final?"

"Because isn't it sad to _you_ knowing that next year will be our last year in Hogwarts?" Marlene asked her curiously. Gene shared a look with Lily with her eyebrow raised before turning back to Marlene.

"Marls," Mary McDonald started to her, sitting on the other side of Gene. Marlene looked over at her. "Even if we're sad about it, doesn't mean that we wouldn't be _happy_ about it. Our sixth year and our seventh year are going to be the two best years of Hogwarts."

Marlene was about to reply to that, but Genevieve was sure to speak up. "Mary's right, even after Hogwarts we'll be together. Every Saturday night after Hogwarts we are going to celebrate something in a pub with firewhiskey and butterbeer, two things that we cannot live without, right Lily?"

"I can live without both of those things." Lily stated absentmindedly. Gene furrowed her brow at her, noticing something plaguing along Lily's beautiful features. But instead of bringing it up, she merely glanced behind her shoulder to see a certain Slytherin's eyes on her best friend. Genevieve glanced back at Lily, not letting a sigh escape her lips. Lily's hand though soon found itself being grasped underneath the table, which Genevieve gave a reassuring squeeze to.

Snape should be the last thing on Lily's mind right now, but Genevieve knew very well that Snape would never be off of her mind. Her hand slowly slipped from Lily's, but it did the trick to give Lily some comfort. Dorcas chuckled lightly, "Well, that's because you're a goody-goody, but to be honest, I can live without butterbeer. It's those Chocolate Cauldrons _I _enjoy." She looked over at Genevieve suggestively, her eyebrows waggling for a brief moment. "And am I expecting _those _in the dormitory, Gen?"

"You were going to bring them?" One of the girls asked it excitedly, Marlene's face contorted from a frown to a gleeful grin. Another one of the girls asked it simultaneously, only with a shocked and almost appalled tone, Lily's face contorted disgustedly at her friend.

Genevieve put a crooked grin on her face for a moment, looking between the two Gryffindor sixth years before actually shaking her head, receiving a groan from both Marlene and Dorcas. "Unfortunately, I did not. Grandma Rooney found me trying to stash them in my trunk and took them away from me." She couldn't do those things while her grandmother was around; she caught on too fast for her age. Genevieve was a god-awful sneak, hiding things and keeping secrets around her grandmother always proved to be difficult.

"I can't believe that you were going to do that, Gen." Lily said to her, giving her a scolding look a mother would give a child. Genevieve looked at Lily with her eyes narrowed. "Did you really think that you would get away with it?"

"I was hoping on it," Genevieve admitted to Lily. "I probably wouldn't have anyway if my gran didn't find out."

"And what made you so sure?" Lily asked her friend, with the disappointment sounding so clear in her voice as she spoke. It was funny how Lily acted toward Genevieve sometimes, and sometimes Genevieve wondered why she considered Lily to be her best friend out of all of her classmates. They were just so… so… _different_. Yes, they did have some similarities, some huge ones, but they definitely had their differences.

Lily often tried to see the good in people, while Genevieve associated others with where they came from. A classic example was Severus Snape. Genevieve judged him the moment she met him and when he was sorted in Slytherin, to her it wasn't a surprise. Lily kept being his friend no matter what Genevieve (or anyone else for that matter) had stated against him. Gene was quiet about it though when she knew Lily wasn't going to listen to any of her warnings.

Another thing was their study habits. Though both were very smart girls, Lily being practically the top of their class, they both differed. Lily wished that Genevieve would apply herself more to her studies. The amount of time Lily would get her essay done before Gene usually was a great difference. Hers would be done the week before it would be due, and Gene's would be done the class break before it would be due.

Their hobbies often differed too. Lily would be happy with a good book in her hands, learning all that she could from it while having a cup of tea next to her. She also did like spending time with her family (well, sometimes Petunia was absolutely horrid to be around) and she enjoyed her time spent with her friends. Genevieve, while liking some (_some_) time spent with her family and friends, she also liked being by herself, alone with her thoughts and writing some of them down in a kept journal. She did enjoy reading, but sometimes she got too frustrated, getting through a book quietly, in complete _silence_, often was difficult for her. When she did enjoy going out with friends, she would be more _reckless_ and _adventurous _with them than Lily would be.

Not to mention the ultimate difference. Lily would not step within two inches of a Quidditch game, watching them from afar. She _hardly_ enjoyed them and when she did go, she would be going against her will, to only support her fellow classmates in her house. She didn't like how it actually changed everyone and how _competitive _the houses would get. Also, Quidditch was a ruthless game, kind of like muggle football could get, and she wasn't really a fan of football either.

Genevieve, on the other hand, would not step in the stands of Quidditch. She wouldn't be there, she would be on the pitch and playing the game she was taught to play since she was five. Her and James, before Hogwarts, played with their families all the time, starting a rivalry that still raged on with their families. Two years ago in Herbology, one of their games were brought up and an argument soon ensued between Gene and James. Now, they play on the same team for Gryffindor, Genevieve as the Keeper and James as the Captain and a chaser.

The question pondered often though between the two of them was, 'Why are we even friends?' They had never fought, they often bickered, and when one of the two of them was put off by something (often, _someone_) or was upset, they both jumped to each other's side before anyone could do so. When her father died, it was Lily who floo'd to her house first after hearing word; she even stayed in the same house as James for a week with no complaint. When her friendship with Snape ended, it was Gene who brought Lily to their dormitory in the Gryffindor tower immediately and listened to every word Lily said through tears, allowing her friend to cry on her shoulder (even when she had a difficult time comforting others). They never even had given the silent treatment to one another before.

They were best friends, best mates who would be with each other for better or worse.

But for right now? Genevieve pondered that sacred question again. "Well, that depends, Lily, would you have tattled about me to McGonagall?"

"Well, it's against—."

"As is those parties the Marauders throw, but you still allow them to happen our little prefect." Mary had stated, teasing Lily before looking at the grand oak doors closing behind the last of the upper years.

"It's not only _I_ that allow them to happen. I'm not the only prefect in Gryffindor!" Lily weakly defended, trying not to look at Genevieve or Mary in the eye.

"Lily, you can secretly admit to us that you actually have fun at those parties." Dorcas reasoned with her, glancing over at Marlene to confirm this. Marlene shrugged her shoulders, but gave a subtle nod. Lily rolled her eyes at the statement, which made Genevieve quietly snicker as she turned her head to Mary. Her and Mary shared a look between each other, knowing full well that Lily _really_ _did_ enjoy those parties. When they looked up at her at the last party, there was a priceless image of Lily actually having a calm and relaxing conversation with James on the couch by the fire.

Lily even had a drink in her hand that they both knew to not be pumpkin juice. Both of the girls, though tempted to even speak of this incident, did not, knowing the mortification that could ensue afterward. "Why would I secretly admit it, when I know it's not true?" Lily asked Dorcas.

"Because maybe you don't really know it yet, like your love for a certain Marauder." The comment slipped before Marlene could even stop it. Genevieve nearly choked on her saliva, trying to cough it up and heard a snort come from the other side of her. Gene glanced over at Mary who had to turn her head to not laugh at this. Lily's eyes couldn't have grown any wider as they looked at Marlene, who was at first clueless about what just came out of her mouth.

It was clear to her though once Dorcas shook her head, trying hard to not show the grin begging to show. "I would…" Lily eventually said. Genevieve looked over at her through a half closed eye, to see the difficulty Lily had to form a sentence. By the difficulty, Genevieve wondered if she actually had a small (a really small) crush on James… or if it was because she was astonished that one of them actually said that. "I would _never_, and I mean _never_, love that arrogant toe-rag."

"How are you so _sure_ about that, Evans?" Genevieve asked with the corner of her mouth twitching up into a smirk. She made sure to ask it very mockingly toward her, her voice pitching up.

Lily glared over at Genevieve. Though her green eyes looked annoyed, Gene could see right through them. Deep down, and _really_ deep down, the lot of them amused Lily. _Really deep down though. _"You of all people know that I think that James Potter is a cocky, arrogant, piece of—."

"He's also charming, impeccably handsome, hilarious, and _madly_ in love with a girl in his year by the name of Lily Evans."

He always managed to make his entrance once Lily mentioned his name. The amused look in her green eyes, hidden behind her annoyed look, disappeared immediately. Lily's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she looked over to the other side of her to see James looking back at her with his round glasses reflecting her. His untidy, dark hair looked untidier from the last time Gen had seen him. Sirius sat down next to Marlene, a crooked grin beginning to show on his handsome features, while Remus Lupin sat down next to him. Peter was already and loyally sitting next to James, but his eyes were dimly looking at the empty plates along the Gryffindor table.

James then gave Lily a small wave, "Hullo, Lily dear."

"Potter." Lily acknowledged him coldly. "Don't you have somewhere else to sit right now?"

"How could I sit somewhere else when I heard you say my name? I come to you at your call, Evans." James stated to Lily, the smirk on his face growing slightly.

A comment quickly bubbled in his cousin's throat before she stated, "Yeah, he comes at your call, Lil, almost like a little pet." Genevieve's eyes twinkled at her comment, hearing someone actually chuckle from the Marauders. She didn't look to see whom; she knew her comment was funny.

"And pets are also great companions, Evans." James added onto what she said. Lily was left to sigh almost exasperated at the two people next to her.

"James, leave her be, I think she had enough of you today." Remus said to him, looking at James with an almost disapproving look. Remus was the most sensible Marauder. He had brown, sandy hair that was thick and blue eyes. On his face though, he had few scars marring it. He never was a bully to others and he was a prefect alongside Lily. By far, he was the kindest of them all and the most mature.

"Thank you, Remus." Lily said to him thoughtfully, bowing her head.

"But, of course, she had enough of James since the first day of Hogwarts." Sirius commented with his crooked grin still jokingly.

"She could never have enough of me, Padfoot." James said to him almost sounding serious, but there was a glimmer in his eye that showed that he didn't mean it to sound serious.

"So… Gene, are we expecting a new Gryffindor?" Marlene asked her, drawing the attention off of Lily, which Lily was partly thankful for. Genevieve looked over at Marlene and shrugged her shoulders unsure.

But when she went to answer the question verbally, James beat her to it. "Is that even a question? The Potters and the Rooneys have been in the Gryffindor house for generations, I don't think it'll change."

At that, Genevieve sighed loudly before stating, "But even if it does change, I'll still accept him as my brother."

"But, Rooney, have you met the kid?" James asked her over Lily. Genevieve tried not to look over at James as she closed her eyes. "Young Alden is more Gryffindor than anything, you know that. He looks up to Sirius and me because of how Gryffindor he is."

"Because that's a good thing? You two aren't exactly good role models." Lily couldn't help but state.

"He looks up to you, but he doesn't want to be like you." Genevieve told him, her eyes narrowing over at James while looking slightly bothered by him. It was far too early in the year though to be bothered by him. "In fact, he's _nothing_ like you two at all."

"Oh, but he _tries_ to be like us in some ways." Sirius retorted back, leaning back slightly. The color in his grey eyes was slightly dancing as they looked over at Genevieve. She furrowed her brow at him before shaking her head. "He'll be in Gryffindor, Vieve. Don't worry your pretty little head."

"What have I told you about calling me that?" Genevieve nearly scowled at him, but before a retort was thrown toward her, Mary tapped her shoulder. Gene turned her head in time to see a small smile on a wrinkled old face in front of the Great Hall. Most of the Great Hall settled down, looking at the great wizard in the front, standing in front of his seat. The Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, looked at all of his students with a gentle twinkle in his eye and as the rest of the Hogwarts students sat with their house, Dumbledore had taken his seat.

The students' eyes then all went to the grand, oak doors, seeing Professor McGonagall peek into the Great Hall to see if all was ready. Then a moment later, the oak doors opened to reveal McGonagall in front of the first years, who stood in two lines that were particularly messy. Genevieve watched the line, trying to look over Ravenclaw heads to see if she could spot her younger brother, having not seen him since King's Cross.

Most of the first years seemed nervous, their eyes bouncing all over the Great Hall, landing on all of the four tables lined in the room, the candles floating in the air above them, and the line of teachers sitting at their usual long table. Some of their eyes even looked at the Sorting Hat, sitting calmly on top of the podium.

"Remember when we were scared and nervous like that?" Marlene stated to Dorcas, which one of them always stated in each year. Dorcas nodded to Marlene quietly as she watched the first years file in. Genevieve caught Alden looking around the Great Hall among the others, before his eyes finally settled on the Gryffindor table to the far right. When Gene caught his brown eyes, she smiled at him softly, winking at him. But, surprisingly, Alden made pretend that he hadn't noticed her and kept walking, making conversation to this blonde kid that towered over him. He, for some reason, wasn't as nervous as the others.

The smile slid off of Genevieve's face and she watched her brother with a furrowed brow before she felt Lily nudge her arm lightly. Gene looked over at her, but Lily didn't say anything. She didn't really need to. Gen understood… sort of… maybe her brother didn't want to be embarrassed or seen to be acknowledging his sister. But… that didn't seem like him, she didn't think.

In the silence of the Great Hall, the two lines had become even messier, going into a jumbled up messily. McGonagall stepped up to grab the hat, all eyes were now on top of it as she picked it up gracefully, bringing it to the single stool in the front and sitting it on top. Everyone in the Great Hall watched the hat with interest, the first years being nervous and uncertain of what would happen next. They were pointedly staring at the hat. Alden Rooney, who stood next to his blonde friend, Thorfinn, swallowed thickly.

And then… the hat opened its mouth to actually sing.

_A long, long time ago, my friends when I was newly sewn,_

_Four good witches and wizards came together and found Hogwarts School_

_Good friends, they were, through and through, and they thought to never part_

_They began to teach young witches and wizards _

_Like you, and you, and you_

_The bold and noble Gryffindor, knew his house would be true_

_Holding many brave and great_

_With nerves of steel and with a great big roar_

_The cleverest of all of them was the beautiful Ravenclaw_

_She wanted her house to be full of studious wizards_

_Who were clever just like her_

_Hufflepuff was loyal though, loyal to the tee_

_Hard working, patient, and kind, she was_

_Which she strived for her to house to be_

_Slytherin was power-hungry and could be seen as shrewd_

_In his house, there are cunning folk who have great ambitions_

_They use any means, at any cost, to get what they want._

_The four friends though soon parted, having disagreements_

_Slytherin wanted to be pickier in the school while the others surely didn't_

_But when they separated and left the school, who was to choose who'd go where?_

_And that was when Godric Gryffindor plucked me off of his head._

_The, now, three founders gave me brains with all the knowledge I would need_

_To be here many years later and for you all_

_To sort you in the right house that you'll be in._

_Now, trust me, you're in good hands, I am hardly ever wrong._

_For I am the greatest thinking hat_

_That you have ever known._

When the song finished, the Great Hall was still in silence as McGonagall took a scroll from the podium. Filch, the caretaker, with his receding, thin hairline and his hunched back, walked quickly to take the hat up from the stool. Peter leaned toward James to comment on the hat's song, "Does he go all year thinking up songs since he has nothing better to do?"

"That was the worst song yet." James said back to him and most of everyone around him agreed. The beat of the song wasn't very clear and the verses were hardly good. They expected better from the hat that had nothing better to do but make up these songs.

McGonagall looked over the list, her eyes scanning the names before calling the first name. "Allwich, Emily."

Genevieve watched with baited breath, waiting for her brother's name to be called among the rest of the names. Her heart did happen to be beating against her chest. She didn't understand why she seemed more nervous for her brother's sorting (maybe because of the conversation they had the night before), but she felt like she was more nervous for his more than she was for her own.

The moment the sorting hat landed on Emily's head, it yelled out, "Ravenclaw!" A moment later, the table erupted with applause.

Alden looked over at Thorfinn Rowle, who had his large head up and was looking at the hat like he was trying to intimidate. "Do you think we'll be in the same house?" Alden asked him, whispering the question as Professor McGonagall called the next name. He knew the answer already, knowing full well that Thorfinn would be sorted into Slytherin while he would be sorted into Gryffindor like the rest of his family, but he still was curious for his friend's answer.

Thorfinn and him met on the train to here after he had got rid of the muggle-born in his compartment. He did know who the Rowle family was, like Thorfinn knew who the Rooney family was, but that didn't stop them from having a conversation with each other. Alden liked Thorfinn though; they had a lot in common with each other that Alden wouldn't have expected. The Rowle family was one of the families that he heard his father talk about with his grandfather, but Al didn't see the horrible things his father had said about him. Thorfinn was either different, or… his father had the wrong perception about him.

Thorfinn looked over at Alden with his brow furrowed, "Unlikely, Rooney."

"Unlikely…" Alden repeated with a slight nod, but part of him didn't want to be separated from his first friend here. A part of him didn't really want to be sorted into Gryffindor like he thought would happen. Al wasn't an idiot, he knew what would happen once they were sorted, they were not going to be friends any more, and Alden wasn't sure if he'd like that.

One of his sister's friends, Lily, had a friend in Slytherin. He clearly remembered Genevieve's complaints about it in her journal that she kept, and that he would steal to read once in a while when he needed her exact words, '_Lily is now no longer friends with Snivellus, finally noticing the differences that they had. Honestly, am not surprised, but she is completely crushed by it.'_ "What about friends, though?" Alden asked him, noticing how high pitched his voice had gone.

"_My_ family wouldn't like it if I was friends with a Gryffindor _and_ a blood traitor, Rooney." Blood traitor… last time he checked, Alden didn't consider himself one. He honestly didn't really understand the word. It had been thrown around his house plenty of times by his sister and her grandparents, his father would say it too whenever he was home, but Alden never asked for the meaning.

Thorfinn though did look Al up and down briefly and he had his doubts about the Rooney in his year. Alden Rooney seemed different from what his family said about the Rooneys and the Potters. Al didn't scowl or protest when Thorfinn sputtered the word 'mudblood' effortlessly on the train and he was also particularly sneaky on the train, getting the filthy mudblood he was talking to out of compartment and even managed to pluck a chocolate frog from Thorfinn's bag when he wasn't looking (Thorfinn kept track of those).

But would it be enough for Al to make it into Slytherin? Thorfinn doubted it. The two of them remained silent. Alden at times jumped from the eruption of claps behind him. The Gryffindor table seemed though especially loud.

He counted how many first years were in each house, his head nodding at each house name. He mentally took note of each name, too, judging them to see who would land themselves where. The Sorting Hat took his time with some kids though, not everyone was Emily Allwich who had her house decided the moment the hat touched her hair.

"Rennalls, Oliver." His name was coming up. Just the thought that he might be the next boy to sit on that stool made his stomach twist uncomfortably. If the look on his face didn't show he was nervous before, it surely did now. His face contorted, hearing 'Gryffindor' being shouted out from the hat and the loud Gryffindor table, who clapped and yelled for Oliver.

"Romney, Josephine." He took a short breath of relief, happy that he wasn't the next, but then he knew that he _had_ to be next. The Hufflepuff table soon erupted with applause. He felt someone nudge his shoulder and looking over he saw that it was Thorfinn, with a look in his eyes that said that 'you're next'.

And then, "Rooney, Alden," was called. He closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, before he pushed through the remaining first years. McGonagall peered down at Alden through her glasses, her small mouth being puckered, and her eyes went to Filch as Alden jumped slightly up onto the stool. He folded his hands on his lap so he wouldn't fiddle with his thumbs and then he felt the old, battered hat be placed on top of his head.

It took a moment for the hat to awake again, Alden nearly jumping at the sound of the hat actually speaking to him, _"Interesting…"_ he started. Alden's breathing almost became uneven as he shifted uncomfortably. _"Another _Rooney_ I'm sorting now, is it?"_ Alden gave the hat a subtle nod like he could see it. _"But you're not like the rest of your family, are you? You definitely are a different one." _

Genevieve watched her brother with a furrowed her brow. The sorting hat seemed to be debating, the top of it moving slowly back and forth, talking to Alden in a whisper. She kind of hoped that the hat would yell out the house right away rather than take its time. It worried her.

"_Not at all a Ravenclaw,"_ the Sorting Hat stated to Al, which was obvious to him. _"And not at all a Hufflepuff, you seem to be lazy about doing several things. You are the quiet sort, not as outspoken a Gryffindor should be, and you're not reckless like one would be."_ So what did that mean? That he wasn't a Gryffindor. _"You have a different sense of loyalty than the rest of your family, too. You enjoy where you come from, don't you? I think you would do well in Slytherin."_

But the sorting hat was not clear still. Alden didn't understand why Slytherin. He even expressed this to the sorting hat in his thoughts, knowing that it would catch on; after all it said it was a 'thinking hat'. _"You have a sense of self-perseverance, taking multiple things into consideration. I can see you're worried." _The Sorting Hat had almost a scowl on its sewn features. _"But Slytherin would lead you on the way to greatness! There is no doubt about that…"_ Alden didn't know what to say to the hat, at one point he was considering asking the hat to reconsider his sorting, but a part of him didn't want him too.

Then a moment later, "Yes, yes, yes." The Sorting Hat said louder, breaking from his whisperings. "Better be… Slytherin!"

Many of the Slytherins broke out in applause that sounded unsure along with one Gryffindor sitting at the table. Alden looked around the Great Hall, his eyes finding a smiling, and yet surprised Thorfinn Rowle among the first years, before looking at the Gryffindor table, his eyes finding a gaping Genevieve. Peter paused in clapping, looking around the other sixth years Gryffindors, at first unsure why no one else was clapping.

Then it occurred to him, looking at a wide-eyed James and seeing Genevieve still looking at the front of the Great Hall in shock. "He didn't get in, did he?"

No, he didn't. In fact, Alden Rooney was the first of her family to actually be sorted into Slytherin.

* * *

_**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! There was a big part of it that I did take out if you had recognized it from Facebook since I used it as the sneak peek. The note is still on there somewhere (if you do want to check it out), but I took it out of the chapter because I didn't think it was that important to keep, it was really Alden and Thorfinn. Speaking of Thorfinn Rowle, does anybody remember him from the books? (He was really a death eater in the seventh I think)**_

_**So, I also do have my reasons for why Alden was placed in Slytherin rather than any other house. It wasn't just because of the plot of my story (though it was also a big part of my decision) it was also because of the traits of Alden that he hadn't showed yet in these chapters, but these traits would be showed later on. But on my Facebook page I will post those traits if people are still confused (he's not in Slytherin because of ill-intentions, which our beloved sorting hat would sometimes do). And also, I have posted a really important concerning the next few months and this story, along with others, so if you want to check that out on the page and more, like it :) the link is on the profile.**_

_**Love, Tiana**_


	4. We're in the Same Boat

_**Hello everybody! I'm so sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I've been busy with school and everything. It was hard getting this chapter done with two other stories and assignments looming over my head. Anyway, thank you for everyone who reviewed! I'm going to stop now before I ramble.**_

_**Anon: I'm honestly glad you enjoyed the writing, but to call those two reviews constructive makes me believe you did not read them since they only contained a sentence. I could see where you're coming from so I took down that note, but it wasn't mostly me complaining about these reviewers. I remember discussing why reviewers like that were an issue and how they could discourage someone from writing, because I know several writers who a) got flamed or b) a similar review that was not constructive at all and didn't point out where to fix it, who stopped writing altogether. It's not fair that some writers/people think it's okay to go on anon and write things like that without letting the author pm to ask what was wrong. And turn off anon reviews? I actually moderate them. I'll never turn them off because of two reviews when I have received plenty of amazing anons in the past that would never let me just turn it off. I moved on already and sorry the note discouraged you.**_

* * *

_Chapter Three.  
__We're in the Same Boat_

Dinner was awkward and quiet. No one said a word to Genevieve. They all pretty much tried to act like it was a normal feast and occasionally they would look over at her. She barely touched her food and when she did, it was a slow movement of her fork to turn a piece of meat on its back. James did note to a worried Remus though that she took several sips of her pumpkin juice. She walked on her own to the Common Room when everyone was finished, getting the password from Lily before she even did so. She needed to think.

It wasn't an issue, or really a big deal for her that her brother was a Slytherin. _He's still my brother_, she thought, _and because he is still my brother I'll love him no matter what_. She didn't care about the others and what they might say. It was a shock, yes, but it wasn't their business. Al wasn't like the other Slytherins; she knew that for a fact.

Her friends would say what they want about her brother, they would never say them around her. Her cousin would have a few choice words about it to her, but that much was obvious. He was most likely upset about the ruined line of Gryffindor between both of their families. But… she was sure that if Al were placed in either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, James wouldn't really care. But _Slytherin_… she didn't actually know for _sure_ his mindset.

Genevieve didn't know where her feet were taking her. She would look up here and there to see where she was, so she would get her bearings, but soon she ended up following the Slytherin first years without realizing it. Genevieve stopped in her place, took several paces back, and moved slightly to her left to see if she could spot him.

She bit the inside of her mouth, her eyes narrowing once she caught a sandy bowl hair cut in the crowd. Leaning her side against the wall, she watched the first years walk down the hall collectively. Slytherins house had at least ten new additions. Collecting her robes, Genevieve wondered where the other Slytherins were. Usually the houses stayed with the first years, to lead them through the dungeons or the towers. So where were they?

Gene clutched her robes before moving slightly to the side, getting a sense of anxiety. The last thing she needed was to see one of the Slytherins in her year… or really any of them. She was mostly worried about how they would treat her brother in their house rather than how others would treat him. She could give two shits about how the Marauders would look at her brother.

She didn't want Mulciber, the bastard who always gave Dorcas and Mary a threatening glare, to get an idea to hex her brother when he wasn't looking, or Snape, or Avery, or really any of _them_. She knew their kind. She knew that they hated her family and any other blood traitor.

It would be nice to just talk to a Slytherin, just to have a friend in the inside that would watch over Al. At least in the other houses, there would be someone watching over him… but she didn't have anyone in Slytherin. Not even an acquaintance. Slytherins and Gryffindors never have had relations with each other.

Genevieve took a deep breath before crossing her arms over her chest and quickly glancing toward the Slytherins there before turning on her heel to find her way to Gryffindor Tower. This time, Genevieve found her eyes all over the place, looking around corners and sometimes even looking behind her shoulder to see if anyone was following her. She would rather not talk to anyone, be confronted by anyone, or really _see_ anyone. She wanted to slip in her nightgown and go to bed.

She went on a walk to think. She thought it through. This shouldn't ruin the relationship she had with her brother, and it would never be ruined. Lily was most likely going to ask what she had been doing. The other girls weren't like that. Gene did only talk to her about these issues as Lily had talked to her about issues such as this. But… Genevieve didn't want to talk about it.

Her thoughts made her not pay attention to where she was going again and before she would make a usual left to get to the staircase that would lead her to the Tower, a figure stood in her way. "Rooney." Someone snarled. The familiar snarl made her look up to see what used to be a childhood friend. Genevieve faked a smile at him, bowing her head slightly.

"Crouch." She acknowledged him. Though she tried to fake a friendly expression, her tone was anything but friendly. Barty Crouch Jr. was a friend of hers when her father worked closely with his in the Ministry. Their fathers didn't get along, they _tolerated_ each other, but her and Barty Jr. did get along. She still remembered when they had to spend endless hours with each other with a limited amount of things to do. It all changed when they got older.

The two of them… had distinguishing differences in their views. He wasn't though as radical as the other Slytherins, or he didn't really show it. Crouch was always a quiet one, not really a bully to muggle-borns or half bloods. He wouldn't join in. He had something that kept him from not joining with the other Slytherins that the others didn't. Crouch had an extremely powerful father, and if word got out that his son was an aspiring Death Eater, forget it. Barty's future would end right there.

"A little late to be walking out on your own, eh?" Barty asked her with his eyebrow raised. He spoke with a slight rasp and he had his tongue somewhat out like a true snake. "Shouldn't you be walking with the rest of your house?"

The fake smile fell off her face and she said, "Well, _Crouch_, I don't think my whereabouts really matter to you."

"I'm just showing my concern for you, Rooney. Don't want anything to happen to you." Barty feigned his concern. Genevieve bit the inside of her mouth before nodding her head mockingly and then she made to walk around the fourth year Slytherin, but the sound of his voice stopped her in her place. "Quite surprising that Alden is now a Slytherin. What is it? The first Rooney to _not_ be a Gryffindor."

"Shut up, Crouch." Gene nearly snarled.

"Is that why you're alone? You wanted to see if your brother wasn't being _bullied_?" Genevieve didn't even turn around. She closed her eyes for a moment before she heard Crouch say, "You got us wrong, Rooney. We _protect_ our own." _You protect your own…_ she thought slowly before turning her head slightly toward him. What was that supposed to mean…?

She turned on her heel to face him, but she kept herself in the same position, neither moving closer to him or away. "There was a time when you and I could call each other friends, and I know we aren't now—."

"Be still my breaking heart, Rooney. You aren't suggesting that for all of these year we weren't even friends. I thought we were."

The sarcasm in his voice almost made her roll her eyes, but she ignored him before stating, "The least you could do for me is to… just watch over him for me." It was almost painful for her to ask and she didn't even want to, but a force came over her. Barty stared at her for a moment, his light brown eyes boring into her own for a moment. There was pity within them… or she thought she saw pity until she heard a laugh escape from him.

Genevieve found herself actually scowling at him. The tongue still hung out of his mouth slightly as he said to her, "You're worried for the little runt, aren't ya? Afraid that he'll get his arse hexed the first day? As I've said, Alden Rooney is one of us now, we look after our own."

"What in the bloody hell does that mean?" Genevieve asked him annoyed, taking a step or two toward him. "I get that you guys do that, but all I'm asking is for you to give me updates on him is all… to make sure he is all right, please."

Barty seemed to acknowledge her, tilting his chin up slightly and looking down at her. He was two or three years younger than her but he had the height advantage, and Genevieve was at a modern height already. He then inquired to her, "What's in it for me then?"

"I'm sorry?"

"I'm not going to do it for nothing, Rooney." His tongue went in his mouth for a quick second before a small smile appeared on his face. The small smile sent chills up her spine. Needless to say, it worried her.

"What do you want then, Crouch?" Genevieve asked him almost bored.

Barty sucked in both of his lips. Gene couldn't help but notice the slight poke of his tongue in between as he concentrated on what he wanted. His light brown eyes looked up. "Uh…" he started, closing his eyes before opening them and looking directly at her. "I'll let you know, Rooney."

"No, I don't do that. You tell me what you want _now_ and we'll make arrangements."

"If you are desperate enough for this, I'd think you would do it." Barty said to her, licking his bottom lip.

Genevieve stared at him for a moment before she shook her head no, "Forget that I even asked." She then turned on her heel to leave him in the hall and go to the Common Room. She crossed her arms over her chest awkwardly and kept her head down. Barty still stood in the middle of the hall, watching her with a slight crooked grin and his tongue settling uncomfortably against his teeth.

"If you ever change your mind, Rooney, you know where to find me!" Genevieve sighed deeply before turning the corner.

Gene muttered under her breath, "Git."

* * *

The walk to the Common Room did not take long; it took her at most ten minutes to stand in front of the Fat Lady. "Ad Coelum." Genevieve said to the Fat Lady.

"And where have you been?" The Fat Lady portrait asked her, cocking a thick eyebrow.

"That's none of your business." Genevieve said to the portrait matter-of-factly. "I said the password so you have to let me in." The Fat Lady stared at her long and hard before resonating huff came from her. Genevieve tilted her head and hummed with satisfaction as the portrait swung open for her and then she allowed herself inside to embrace the Common Room atmosphere. The Fat Lady muttered something rude that Gene didn't pay any mind to as she walked in.

She carefully scaled the wall before walking into the actual Common Room, her eyes scanning for her friends. Surprisingly, only Dorcas and Marlene were settled at a table in the corner. Mary must have been with Connor, the seventh year she started dating, and Lily might have been waiting upstairs for her. Genevieve then searched for her cousin, and noticed his untidy locks on the couch with a Sirius Black next to him. Remus and Peter must have been settled in their dormitory.

Maybe if she were to sneak pass them they wouldn't notice her. After standing there for a minute, she looked up and noticed that she caught the eye of Marlene from across the room. Genevieve carefully looked at her, giving her a look that said 'I'm not here.' Marlene gave her a subtle nod. The quick okay for her to plow through the Common Room unnoticed. Dorcas might see her though when she would be climbing up the stairs, but Dorcas wouldn't bring attention to her.

She took a deep breath before moving forward. She kept her eyes carefully forward and her chin up. Genevieve knew that some people might treat her differently. Her friends probably not, but others that she wasn't friendly with would most likely bother her. She was halfway to the stairs when she heard someone calling her, "Oi, Rooney!" Maybe Mary wasn't with Connor.

Genevieve stopped in her place, letting a smile ease its way on her face before she turned around to see a chastising grin on Connor MacAbee's face. "Yes?" Sirius looked up from James to see her. James cocked his eyebrow up and looked between Connor and Gene.

"How does it feel to have a muggle-born hater in the family?" Connor asked her, the grin somewhat growing. Behind the smile, Genevieve gritted her teeth. "The kid's going to be a future Death Eater now."

"That's unnecessary, mate." James stated to Connor, throwing him a look. Genevieve was somewhat surprised to even hear her being defended by him.

"It's alright, Potter. I could handle it myself." Genevieve said to him, brushing the hair out of her face. She did subtly mumble a thank you that he could barely hear. Genevieve took a small breath through her nose before saying to Connor, "How do I feel, you ask? I feel damn well. My brother is my brother, and no matter what arseholes like you may say, I love him no matter what." That shut him up. Genevieve smirked at him, "Now, if I hear one more word come out of your mouth, I think I'd be tempted to punch every little tooth in your mouth. Got it?"

"Got… Got it." With that, Connor sat slowly back down. Genevieve slowly nodded her head before looking around the Common Room as if she was daring anyone else to say something to her.

When no one dared to, she muttered, "Good." Then she turned on her heel so she could go upstairs. No one stopped her. When she went into the girls' dormitory, Genevieve took a deep breath to collect herself before she would walk forward to where the six years were supposed to be. She opened the door to find Lily sitting on top of her bed, waiting with a packaged Chocolate Frog. Genevieve heard the familiar sounds of a shower going on in the bathroom, and she assumed that that was where Mary would be.

The smirk faltered as Lily held up the Chocolate Frog. "Chocolate makes everyone feel better." Lily stated.

"Usually Lily Evans would scold me for not eating at dinner." Genevieve jokingly said, walking over to her bed and sitting beside her best friend. Lily handed her the Chocolate Frog, which Gene took in her hand.

"The last thing you'd want is for me to tell you the importance of a meal."

"That's actually right," Gene said to her, the corner of her mouth twitching up into a half smile as she opened up the packaging. "Let's see who I have now…" she started, placing the frog on her lap gently before looking at the card. She frowned at the card and looked over at Lily, "Seriously?"

"Who is it?" Lily asked her curiously as Genevieve picked up her frog.

Taking a bite out of the frog, Genevieve read out loud while chewing, "_Gringott: the richest goblin ever and the founder of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. _No one wants to trade for a goblin." Genevieve swallowed every bit of the frog before falling back on her bed, feigning her despair. Lily looked down at her with a raised brow before gently taking the card out of her hand.

"I can't believe you still trade these." Lily muttered in disbelief, flipping the card around to see the picture of the 'richest goblin ever'. "And if I were you, I'd eat sitting up. I don't want you to choke."

"Yes, mum." Genevieve mumbled, sitting upright again and taking a bite out of her frog. "And for your information, I trade them for better cards to give to my kids one day so _they_ could trade them for better cards. I am thinking for the future."

"Yes because I'm sure that you will have a daughter one day whose passion would be to collect and trade chocolate frog cards." Lily replied to her, a sarcastic tone coming off of her voice. Genevieve nudged her arm slightly before stuffing the rest of the chocolate frog in her mouth. Lily tried not to cringe as she watched Genevieve chew the remains. She always had ate them in three bites. When she swallowed, Lily asked her, "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, I am." Genevieve answered. "I was fine anyway…"

"No you weren't," Lily reasoned with her quickly, putting a hand on Gene's shoulder. "I know your faces. You were silent all through the feast and you hardly touched your food. You had to take a walk afterward, and you only walk alone when you're upset. I _know_ you, so don't try and say that you were fine."

Genevieve exhaled slowly, "I…"

"I know you don't like talking about your feelings." She added quickly, "You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to."

Genevieve nodded her head slowly, letting a frown slip on her face. "I'm worried about him," she admitted to Lily. Lily frowned back at her friend; the gentle grip on her shoulder went tighter. "I… he's not like them, you know him, Lil. And you know the kids in our year, what are they going to do to him? Mulciber… Avery…" She was about to say Snape, but didn't. Lily was still sore about last year, any mention of that kid wasn't good.

"I understand why you're worried. Those two are sadistic." Lily said to her. "But he's a good kid, you have nothing to worry about. He may be a Slytherin but he's your brother. Slytherins would never hurt their own, you are forgetting that." There was that slight phrase again that Slytherins look after their own, and protect their own.

"I get that," Genevieve said to her slowly, remembering that Crouch said the exact same. "I'm not… I'm not doubting that. But… what about the other houses?" Connor's comment was still in her head. She knew that he wasn't the only with that same thought in Gryffindor.

Lily cocked her head at this, "No one in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw would—."

"Lily, I'm talking about _our_ house." Genevieve said to her in a low voice. Lily looked at her for a moment in confusion. She wasn't downstairs before. She didn't see or hear what Connor said to her and she certainly didn't see the strange looks she had gotten walking in. Genevieve tried not to pay mind to those looks but that was difficult for herself to do. Genevieve explained herself, "When I came in, I've gotten strange looks and Connor… Connor said something to me."

"What did he say?" Mary asked, coming out of a bathroom in her nightgown and a towel wrapped around her head. Genevieve looked up from Lily to see Mary, who had narrowed eyes.

Genevieve took a deep breath, "I took care of it, Mare. There's nothing to know."

"Gene—."

"It doesn't_ matter_." Genevieve stated to her firmly. "He said something that many are thinking. I sent the message to him that I didn't appreciate it."

Mary sighed, "It matters to me. He's my boyfriend, if he said something wrong, just let me know." Mary said to Genevieve carefully. "No guy that I am together with says codswallop about any of my friends."

"He understands that, Mary." Gene said to her kindly. "And I'm not going to say. It was between me and him. Maybe if you ask him about it he'll tell you."

Mary narrowed her eyes at her before slowly nodding her head at Gene. Though Genevieve could see that nodding her head was the last thing she wanted to do. Genevieve didn't say anything until Mary disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Gene looked to Lily, "I know he's not going to be the last one to say something to me."

"Is that really what you care about? How other people are going to look at you?" Lily asked her curiously, not sounding mean or accusatory. Genevieve didn't answer her. "You can't change people's thoughts, what's done is done. I'm sure Potter will—."

"He actually stuck up for me, Lily." Genevieve quickly interjected before smirking at her shocked expression. "James can be immature, but he is mature in a lot of ways. He's not half bad."

"Yeah… whatever, but I'm sure Potter and Black, or Remus and Peter, won't have their perceptions of you changed." Lily reasoned with her. "And they won't think differently of your brother, hopefully. He's still the same Al." What if he were to change? Genevieve silenced that thought before nodding her head slowly at this. "And remember last year when everyone thought your father was a corrupt Auror?"

"He wasn't." Genevieve said to her quickly.

"But people thought it because of the _Prophet_, did they not? You couldn't change those thoughts and you knew that, so what did you do?" Lily asked her. Genevieve glanced over at her, her eyes looking her red headed friend up and down. She didn't answer her. "You ignored them. And think what must be going through your brother's head right now. He might be just as worried as you are, if not more."

"Are you suggesting that I—?"

"Yes, send a note through Romeo if you have to. Just let him know that everything's going to be okay." Lily advised, getting up from Genevieve's bed to go to her own. Genevieve looked over at the caged up bird before puckering her lips at it. In response, Romeo fluttered his wings. "Now, I have spoken to McGonagall earlier and—."

"I'm avoiding her at all costs tomorrow." Genevieve said to her. "I'm sure she mentioned to you that I still didn't have my Career Advice meeting yet."

"She did, and she told me that you are to see her immediately." Lily informed her. "That's something you can't avoid for too much longer. She already understood why you weren't ready to have it because—."

"She knows that I'm going to end up working in the Ministry, isn't that all she needs to know?" Genevieve asked, getting up to go to her trunk so she could get a piece of parchment. "I know I'm not going to avoid her forever, but I'm going to try tomorrow."

"Well… that's kind of impossible, who is going to give you your timetable?"

"Shit," Genevieve murmured, looking briefly up before pulling up a piece of parchment. "Good point, Evans. I don't suppose that you could pick it up for—."

"Over my dead body, Rooney." Lily said to her jokingly. "You're going to deal with McGonagall tomorrow and you're going to like it."

"No one could ever like that." She went back to her nightstand to scroll down her note to Alden. Lily smirked at her with not really any retort before leaving Genevieve to it, knowing that she had to get Dorcas and Marlene from the Common Room. When the door closed, Genevieve looked over at it for a moment. Lily was definitely her best friend, out of everyone she could always count on her. With that thought, Genevieve wrote her small note to Alden.

* * *

Lily was in her head the next morning. Genevieve had woken up before anyone else, showered, got herself ready in her robes and even had time to write a small note telling the girls that she had gone to see McGonagall for her overdue Career Guidance meeting. She was supposed to have it last year just like any other fifth year, but with her father's passing, McGonagall allowed her to postpone it. Now, there was no running away from it. It was early, barely the beginning of breakfast.

She caught McGonagall by the Great Hall, ready to meet the incoming Gryffindors. Professor McGonagall looked at her through her square rimmed glasses. "I've been looking for you, Miss Rooney."

Genevieve nodded her head at McGonagall, "Lily told me that you wanted to see me this morning, so I got up especially early for you. None of the girls are even up yet." It was seven in the morning now, so the fact that McGonagall was already walking down to the empty Great Hall was maddening. Not even the first years, who always made sure they were prompt for the morning of the first day, were headed toward the Great Hall.

Since it was early in the morning, McGonagall had a quick meeting discussing the careers Genevieve was thinking about. McGonagall even suggested that Genevieve should look into being a Healer. "You have a profound knowledge, Miss Rooney, of Herbology and Potions."

"I've only got an Exceeds Expectations on my OWL in Potions."

"Professor Slughorn accepts those with Exceeds Expectations."

Genevieve nodded her head at that, "I know that, we said we were to keep the same classes I had last year, but in NEWT level. I just mean that—."

"Miss Rooney, Professor Slughorn says that you have been doing well in Potions and are even close to being top of his class if Miss Evans and Mr. Snape weren't top already." Genevieve didn't even know that Slughorn knew her name. "And your grandmother was a Healer, correct?"

"Yes, but—."

"I think you could handle the work entitled to you, Miss Rooney." McGonagall said quickly before making a timetable appear. "I've kept all your core NEWT classes," she informed Gene, who reluctantly took the timetable out of her hand, "and I assume you are going to take the same electives from last year."

Genevieve looked over her timetable before nodding her head. "I will see you later in the day. Do not be late." McGonagall said to her, rising from her chair to go back to the Great Hall. Genevieve sat there for a moment before rising up and stuffing her timetable in her knapsack before slinging it on her shoulder.

The rest of the day proceeded extremely slowly. She only saw Zach for a little while after breakfast and she had to deal with odd stares along the Gryffindor table. After breakfast, she ran into her brother who was leaving with his friend. Alden introduced him as Thorfinn, who looked at Genevieve up and down with a slight sneer. Gene tried to not let it phase her and asked if he received the letter she sent through Romeo. She assumed he did this morning, but there was no response on his end.

Alden nodded his head to her, but didn't expand on it. She could tell that he wanted to go. "Okay, if you need any help getting around an—."

"He's fine, he's got me." His friend, Thorfinn, said to Genevieve with an arrogant smirk on his face. Genevieve feigned a slight smirk his way before looking back at her brother.

"If you ever need help, I'm here." Genevieve made sure to say. "And if you see your cousin and his idiot friends and they mention a hidden swimming pool, do _not_ listen to them."

"It's on the third floor!" Sirius Black shouted as the Marauders passed the two of them His voice made Genevieve furrow her brow and she turned her head to see Sirius with a crooked grin on his face. She turned her head to face Alden before muttering 'don't listen to him' and then a goodbye to him and his… friend. Genevieve already wasn't too fond of him, just like he wasn't too fond of her. Then Genevieve turned on her heel to see Sirius leaning his back against the wall, nonchalantly checking his nails.

James, Remus, and Peter walked ahead of him. She stopped in front of Sirius with her eyebrow raised. "We have to get to Charms, Rooney."

"What are you doing waiting for me, Black?" She asked him curiously. Sirius' grey eyes looked up at her, they were almost glittering with a strange sort of amusement. "And you aren't the type to go to class so early."

"Have nothing better to do, love." Sirius said to her, putting an arm around her shoulder. "And why wouldn't I want to wait for my dear, _dear_ friend?"

"Because we aren't dear, _dear_ friends." Genevieve stated to him simply, not moving out from under his arm, as she would usually do. "We aren't friends at all. We tolerate each other." She added after a second thought. "In fact, shouldn't you be sucking off a fifth year's face? Or is it a little too early for you?"

"Hah, you're funny," Sirius said to her, faking a chuckle before his arm slipped from her shoulders. "And I'm trying to be nice here."

Genevieve asked with her eyebrow still raised, "Oh really?" She moved slightly away from him as he nodded his head to her. "And what calls for a change in the tide, Black? Last time I checked we are only friendly with each other when we have to be."

"That's so not true, I'm _always_ friendly." Sirius denied, looking away from Genevieve who stared at him in disbelief. Sirius quickly defended himself, "Most of the time."

"Yeah, most of the time."

"You handled Connor pretty well last night." Sirius acknowledged to her. Genevieve didn't reply to him. "He didn't even _talk_ the whole night and then later on, Mary came down to say a few words to him."

"I told her not to come down, she listened in on my conversation." She mumbled. Last night while she was writing her letter to Alden, Mary came out of the bathroom and announced that she was going to confront Connor. Genevieve tried to talk her out of it, saying that she wasn't there and that she didn't even know what he said. It was harmless, too. Gene didn't stay up long enough to see or hear what happened, but this morning she heard that Mary and Connor were okay.

"Well, he bloody well deserved it. No one should get away with talking to my best mate's cousin like that." Sirius said to her. Genevieve was surprised to hear that coming from his mouth. "Besides, you and I, we're in the same boat."

"We _are_ not." Genevieve corrected him immediately, knowing where this was going. They were not in the same boat, nor would they ever be in the same boat. If they were, Gene would much rather to jump ship. "Our situations are completely different."

"Say what you will, Rooney." Sirius started to her. "But _I_ am the only person that gets where you're at right now." Genevieve looked over at him carefully, her eyebrow raising even higher and almost disappearing beyond her hairline. "Look at me like that all you want, but Prongs and Lily, or even trout mouth, aren't the ones that are going to understand where you are coming from." She had to think a moment about who exactly was 'trout mouth' but then she realized he was talking about Zach.

"And you will?" Genevieve asked him with disdain. She had the temptation to just laugh in his face. "Sorry Sirius, but I think you are the last person I would go for advice."

Sirius looked over at her carefully, still having a crooked grin on his face. He told her, "You say that now, Vieve. But you aren't going to be able to deny it soon enough that we're alike in more ways than one."

"We're not alike at all." Genevieve stated, beginning to sound annoyed. "And don't call me _Vieve._"

* * *

_**I don't know why but in every Marauder fic I've read, no one included Barty Crouch Jr. And I like Barty, so he's going to be in here. So what did you guys think? Liked it? Hated it? I don't know if I'll be able to update this soon enough, college is taking over my life. **_


	5. Quidditch Interrupted

_Chapter Four.  
__Quidditch Interrupted._

"Quidditch!"

"Potter, I'm busy."

"Tryouts are this weekend!" James shouted at his cousin who sat by the fire in the Common Room with her books on top of the table. Genevieve glanced up at him briefly from her essay. The end of September was nearing and though it was still the beginning of the year for her, she was swamped with work. NEWT classes weren't a joke, it seemed, and her skills in procrastination weren't helping her at all. Zach kept his head down as James came over, his eyes being stuck in the Charms textbook. He had come here to study, not hear James' Quidditch rants. James came over to them with his broom in hand. "And you're sitting here doing homework? Your position is being compromised and you are acting like you don't _care_."

Genevieve stifled a sigh as she continued her essay. "The kid whose up for my position is a third year, he will never get it. He tried out for it last year and didn't get on the team."

"He's gotten better, that kid is going to be able to fly circles around you on the pitch if you don't get your arse up and practice." James remarked. Genevieve nearly cringed at the thought of a third year taking her spot as Keeper. She glanced up at Zach, who seemed to be concentrating in his studies. The idea of Quidditch now was tempting. She felt James' broom actually nudge her foot. "Besides that essay isn't due until next week, it could wait."

Genevieve scoffed, snapping herself out of it as she looked in her textbook so that she could paraphrase a sentence in her essay. "Says you. I have so much work that it's ridiculous and if I don't get this done tonight your little girlfriend will have my head."

"And you have too pretty a head to waste." Zach managed to remark, earning a smirk from Genevieve. She looked up from her textbook and gave Zach a quick peck on top of his lips. He draped his arm around her shoulder to bring her closer. "And she is a terrific Keeper, I'm sure that one day without practice wouldn't unhinge her talents."

"Oi, trout mouth, he wasn't talking to you." Sirius stepped in, trotting down the steps from the boys' dormitory with his broom in his hand.

"You shouldn't even listen to our conversation, Jergens." James said to Zachary. Genevieve rolled her eyes and looked up at James. That wasn't necessary. Zach paid attention to his books again, but still kept his ear out for the conversation again. "Don't listen to him, he would rather you not practice so we wouldn't kick his arse in our first match which is with _him_ by the way."

"And that is why you should never fraternize with the enemy." Sirius commented, taking his place next to James. "They always try to sabotage you in unfathomable ways, Rooney."

"Yes, because Zach can sabotage me so easily." Genevieve muttered sarcastically folding her hands over her scroll. She sized the two boys up who were dressed in their Quidditch gear. They were both right, believe it or not. This weekend was tryouts and this hotshot was threatening her position _again_ third year. Who would want to play Keeper though? Honestly, there were so many other positions that he could try out for. They had just lost a beater and a seeker. Those spots were still open, but you had to try out for the spot that the Captain's cousin had? But… last year, this kid was quite good—scarily good, and she might have to fight for her spot because family and Quidditch did not mix. They came to an agreement of that when James became Captain that she wasn't going to get special treatment.

She also had the awful itch to get on top of her broom again. She missed her broom. Genevieve missed the slight glare she had received from her boyfriend. "Will it just be with you two or are we bringing the whole bloody team?"

James and Sirius shared a smirk. "Just us two." Sirius told her, his smirk somewhat growing. "We figured that we would rigorously train you ourselves for the tryouts on Saturday."

"We're also planning to take you down to the kitchens for some lovely desserts. Ain't that right, Padfoot?"

"It sure is, Prongs."

Desserts. They were going to win her approval for practice with _food_. She glanced over at Zach, who was looking at her with disbelief. He could see the gears in her head turning. These boys just knew her way too well. She shook her head no though, "I am not going to endure the wrath of the red-haired witch for a couple of desserts."

"I spot no red-haired beauty here." James said to her, looking around himself and at the rest of the Common Room. "I believe she has gone to be with our dear friend, Mooney, in the library."

"She cannot possibly know what you are truly up to if she isn't here to see. Unless trout reveals to her where you are."

"Can you stop calling me that?" Zach asked Sirius, sounding politely annoyed. Genevieve reached up to pat his hand, which made James want to throw up inside of his mouth. He was the enemy and the fact that his cousin was dating him made him sick. "And it's clear that she doesn't want to go. She's busy, leave her alone."

"Zach don't talk to them like that, they are just trying to annoy you." Genevieve said to him, removing her hand from his but feeling her stomach twist at his tone from before. He didn't like James, or Sirius for that matter, which was okay because many boys in this school didn't because many of the girls fawned over the two Marauders. But she also thought that he forgotten that James was going to be in her entire life. There was no way that Zach was going to avoid him if their relationship was going to continue. Sirius was most likely going to be reoccurring in her life also since he was now living with the Potters.

She still didn't know the reason behind that, only knowing that it had something to do with the Blacks and him. She was going to stay out of it though because her grandfather viewed Sirius as part of the Rooney/Potter clan. "But he is right," Genevieve stated, looking up at the two Marauders with a frown. She would really like to play Quidditch right now, but… "I'm busy. Maybe we could play tomorrow though. I need the practice."

"You're letting him make your decisions for you now, Gene?" Sirius asked her, sounding surprised. "Come out for an hour or two, at most. You'll be in the beloved arms of your trout immediately after."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here, Black." Zach scowled at Sirius.

Genevieve quickly said so a fight wouldn't break out in front of her, "Tomorrow, Sirius."

"Fine, Gene." James said with a nod. Genevieve furrowed her brow at her cousin, surprised that he was taking this easily—far more easily than Sirius, actually. She nodded her head slowly back at him. "We'll just… try and not keep you from your studying and your _essay_. Sirius and I are going to have some fun that you aren't invited now to. Let's go, Padfoot." James laid a hand on Sirius' shoulder, who was now glaring at Zach, but it was quickly shrugged off and James pushed Sirius forward and away from both Genevieve and Zach. Her brow was still furrowed as she stared at the spot that James was at moments ago.

James stopped behind the couch looked to Sirius, before putting a finger to his mouth. They drifted to a table far off from the couch, their eyes lingering at the couple and waiting for Genevieve to get up. Zach played with a piece of hair that fell from behind her ear and she sighed, her jaw almost clenching. "You've been spending a lot of time with him lately." He said absently.

"Who?" Gene asked him, snapping out of her initial confusion of James' ways. "James? He's my—."

"Yeah, I know that. I'm not talking about him, I meant Black."

"Well, things changed between me and Sirius," she admitted to him honestly, looking down at her essay and shifting herself so she could paraphrase more of her textbook. "He's staying with James' family and my family almost visits the Potters every weekend during the summer holiday, so I'm forced to tolerate him, even if I don't like it."

"But… that wasn't tolerating that I witnessed, that was something along the lines of being friends."

"We're not though."

"You acted like you were," Zach said her matter-of-factly. He then recalled, "You didn't even defend me whenever he called me 'trout.'"

Genevieve held her quill tightly to control herself from throwing it at him. She commented to him, "You're a big boy, Zachary, you can defend yourself when someone calls you trout mouth. Now, can I get this done?" A huff was heard from Zach and he rubbed his forehead as he went back to studying whatever was in that book of his. Genevieve glared over at him before going back to her essay. "Good."

They were silent for a moment. Genevieve feeling her heart beat against her chest, nearly made her cringe. She stopped when she realized that she needed more ink, so she leaned forward to dab the quill when she heard Zach close his book. "Go." He told her gently. Genevieve turned head to look at him, her eyebrow rose, unsure if she heard him correctly. "I know that you want to." He had a small smile on his face as he teased, "And you are going to need all the practice you can get to beat Ravenclaw in your first match."

"They left already—."

"No they didn't." Zach said to her. Genevieve looked at him for a long moment before looking behind her shoulder to see both James and Sirius looking at them both. James held up his hand, giving her a small wave. Genevieve waved back with a fake smile before she turned back to Zach who was already removing his arm from her shoulder. "Promise to throw a bludger at Black, please?"

"I'm a Keeper, but I'll surely try. Thank you, Zach." She said to him before gently grabbing the end of his tie to pull him down to her. Genevieve pressed her lips against his to share a small kiss goodbye. She murmured against him before pulling away, "You may have a trout mouth, but your trout mouth is _mine_."

Zach laughed against her before moving away from her, fixing his tie. "Trout mouth, eh? You're going to pay for that comment later, Rooney." With a wink, he collected his books before straightening his back and walking away from her. Genevieve smirked at his retreating figure before standing up.

* * *

Genevieve had gotten ready for her practice with James and Sirius under fifteen minutes. She looked herself over in the mirror; smiling at the fact she had her Gryffindor team robes on, before grabbing her broom to leave the dormitory. The boys were waiting in the Common Room for her and they walked down together to the pitch with their brooms in their hands. James gave her a list of things that she had to work on with them… a _list_. He noted everything that she had done wrong last year…

Genevieve acknowledged each thing he had brought up with a scowl, but with also a nod. Sirius argued with some points, stating that some things weren't her fault, but James dismissed him. Genevieve silently thanked him though because he had a point.

Then they brought up, well James brought up casually, about the Quidditch game in the winter holiday between the Appleby Arrows and the Wimbourne Wasps. "We have an extra seat and you're welcome to take it." Genevieve's favorite team was the Wasps. She used to like the Cannons, and then she got so aggravated with them that her loyalty to that team had gone out the window. She smirked at the invite and accepted it with barely any thought. She would proudly wear their colors that day.

And soon the conversation fell into something of Quidditch, talking about their teams and whom they wanted to win and who should just stay out of the League Cup this year. Cannons were included in this. Sirius inputted a comment about her liking the Cannons a long time ago, but she pushed him away in response.

Since September 1st, she was migrating toward the Marauders. Of course, she had her friends, but James for some reason included her or let her in on a lot of what they did. Sirius and her, no matter what she would say about their friendship, had become friends, casual friends. She was comfortable sitting with the Marauders now. Genevieve had a feeling it was something to do with her brother, who avoided her whenever she got near like the plague.

"Don't we need the quaffle?" Genevieve asked confused, realizing that all they had was their brooms. They approached the pitch only to see Peter standing there with his arms crossed, looking at the three of them with an uncertain smile. "Or are we going to use Pettigrew as it?"

"I think you're going to have a rough time blocking him." Sirius remarked, earning a chuckle from Gene.

"We _sent_ Peter to get that, which he did… I think." James sounded unsure though. The look that Peter was giving them told them differently. "Well… hold on, you two wait here. He's looking at me weird." Genevieve glanced over at Sirius as James walked over toward Peter, who was fiddling with his hands now nervously.

Sirius looked on somewhat confused. "What do you think is wrong?" Genevieve asked him curiously. "Peter looks ill."

"Maybe he couldn't get the quaffle and stuff? I don't know."

"He could be hungry. Maybe he was too hungry to get everything and ran here to tell us."

"That actually is a situation that could _have _happened." Sirius said, watching the scene unfold. Genevieve's eyebrows perked as an amused expression showed on her face. However, it slipped off as she saw Peter practically cowering by the stands as an angry James shouted incoherently at him with words that were abuse. But she doubted that were toward him because James sent heated glares toward the pitch. "This isn't good."

"Should we go over there…?"

"He's comin—." Sirius was cut short.

"The Slytherins took the pitch from us!" James nearly shouted at them, walking over to them with his face going red. Genevieve furrowed her brow at this and glanced over to see the Slytherins in the middle of the pitch, none of them taking flight on their brooms. "I asked McGonagall earlier if we could have it, and she signed it off to me for the night." James explained to them, glancing over his shoulder to see Peter trailing behind him.

Genevieve frowned at him, "It's not the end of the world, James. Don't take it out on Peter."

"They have absolutely no right to it!" James defended his actions, pointing behind him at the pitch. Genevieve took a small breath before nodding her head, actually agreeing with him, but she honestly didn't want to deal with the Slytherins. She successfully avoided their ilk for a while now, only enduring their presence in Potions and Alchemy, well the few that took that (also in Ancient Runes, but one Slytherin girl, who looked like a cow, took that and barely bothered her). She didn't need to see any of them now, and she was fine with it.

"So, they don't have a right to it, but that doesn't mean that we should—."

"We bloody well should be put off about it," Sirius inputted, shooting a look over to Gene. She clenched her jaw irritated before looking over at Sirius. "I'm going to have a talk with them. James, are you coming with?" Sirius walked away from Gene and she looked at both James and Sirius in disbelief as the two Marauders strode over to the pitch.

"Should we stop them?" Peter asked Genevieve as she walked down the slight hill to catch up to them.

"They are going to do something that they don't want to do, so yeah." She answered him, thinking that this could be a misunderstanding between them all. Slytherin could have not known that they had the pitch tonight. This was a ridiculous thing to be mad over, and if it was Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, she was sure that James wouldn't have reacted the way he did. Peter trailed behind her, trying to keep up with her pace as she walked to the pitch.

A smiling fourth year Slytherin met with her on the edge and Genevieve nearly scowled at the cow. "What in the bloody hell is going on?"

"Why don't you ask your cousin, you filthy blood-traitor? Maybe he could explain it." Genevieve shook her head before she pushed her way past the fifth year and going on the pitch. She barely had time to actually acknowledge who the cow was before she pushed herself through. She saw James and Sirius standing in front of Mulciber, who was the Captain of the Slytherin team. Newly appointed Captain of this year, of course.

She heard James yell at the Captain of Slytherin, "This is _my_ pitch tonight. _I_ signed for it and _I_ made sure that no one else could get it."

"That's funny, because last time I checked you didn't need to sign the pitch out before the Quidditch season even started." Mulciber stated, chuckling darkly. "We were here first, Potter."

"But I have permission from McGonagall!"

"The permission was granted with nothing to back it up." Mulciber stated, his small smile growing slightly as he gestured at James. "We're here to practice our wannabe members, so if you'd be so kind and _leave_ that'll be great."

"Listen you pr—." Sirius started, but Genevieve had cut him off as she approached them all.

"James, let's just get out of here." Genevieve stated, putting her hand on top of James' shoulder to pull him away. She glanced over at Mulciber who was looking her up and down like she was prey in his hands. This was going to get bad fast. "Just because we didn't get it tonight doesn't mean that you should get hung up about it."

"_Rooney_, fancy seeing you here." Avery stated, a smirk beginning to twist on his face as he stepped forward. Genevieve tried to ignore him. "You made a great effort trying to avoid us all month."

"Leave her alone, will you?" James told them coldly, shrugging off her hand. Genevieve breathed in sharply before pushing James away from them; afraid he was about to hit one of them. "Anyone would avoid you and your greasy hair, Avery."

"Have you talked to your brother lately?" Avery ignored James and continued on to Genevieve. She held her broomstick tightly in her hand, which was twitching slightly because that was her dominant hand. Her wand was in that pocket and she wouldn't hesitate dropping her broom and hexing Avery if he pulled out his. "He has quite a different thought process than the rest of your family. I could see how he landed himself with us."

"Alden is nothing like you." Genevieve snarled, now replacing James' spot. Sirius looked over at her carefully.

"I never said he was like me, Rooney, but he hexed a Hufflepuff mudblood, didn't think the kid had it in him."

"He would never—."

"How do you know what your brother would and would not do if you don't even _talk_ to him?" Avery asked her harshly. Her grip had tightened even more on the broomstick and she was tempted to just him with it. Her knuckles had turned white as silence came around them. She gritted her teeth. "Cat got your tongue, Rooney? Don't have anything to actually say to that?"

"My brother would never do that." She said to him finally, nearly twitching her mouth at the fact that she had to deny what her brother had to do. "He wouldn't even stand to let that happen."

"You sure about that?" Avery asked her, his eyebrow cocking up.

Before it could continue on, Sirius grabbed her shoulder, noticing how her hand holding the broom was twitching. "That's enough! We don't need to deal with their lot." Sirius told her, pushing her back. Genevieve was almost pulled out of her anger and looked down at herself to see that she kept moving toward Avery without even realizing it. Sirius looked between the Slytherins and Genevieve before moving her away from them.

He handed her off to James who pointed his finger at them, "We're not here to fight, we were here to play."

"You're lucky that we don't have the patience to deal with you. You _win_ for tonight." Sirius stated after James as he walked on the other side of Gene. Genevieve shook her head as they walked back to the castle. Peter was hiding behind the bleachers before deciding to join them. Sirius looked over at him and scowled, "And where were you during that? Gen nearly got her head hexed off and you weren't there to even confront them?"

"Leave him be, I want to go to the kitchens and I'm not in the mood to hear you reprimand him, Padfoot." James said to him grouchily. Genevieve nodded her head, agreeing with him. Sirius glared over at him before putting his arm around Gene protectively. "But seriously, Wormtail, the next time you are there with us the least you could is help."

"You yelled at him before, I wouldn't help you deal with them if I was in his shoes." Genevieve defended Peter weakly. "And how about we don't talk about what just happened? I don't want to think about their atrociousness as I'm eating desserts."

"Dessert?" Peter seemed to perk up at that. Genevieve chuckled before nodding her head. "Great then, this night won't be a complete waste."

"What are you so happy about? You're not getting any." Sirius remarked with a crooked grin. Genevieve shook her head against him, but didn't jump in this time to defend Peter. Though, she was sure to cut him a piece of pie if he wanted one. They were mostly silent walking back to the castle and Genevieve actually liked the fact that Sirius was supporting her as she walked with them because Avery's words kept ringing through her ears. As if he was sensing her thoughts, Sirius told her, "Think of cookies, pie, and cake. Not what that prat has to say."

"Cookies, pie, _and_ cake? Wow, I'm going to have to watch my weight after tonight." Genevieve remarked with feigned frown on her face. When really she could hardly care about her weight when cookies, pie, and cake were in her future.

"She's not having all that, all that would weigh her down on the Quidditch pitch for Saturday." James commented. Genevieve looked at him in disbelief. Did he really just say that? Sirius sniggered as Gene roughly smacked him upside the head. "Oi, I meant that in the nicest way possible, Vieve!"

"Call me Vieve one more time and I'll be sure to make your life hell, _Jimmy_."

"I swear, you guys get in this argument every week." Sirius nearly groaned as the two stared down each other, narrowing their eyes so that their argument would be settled by who could hold the others glare even longer. Sirius looked over at Peter, who still didn't understand why James didn't like being called Jimmy. Sirius then thought for a moment, and corrected himself as they turned down a hall, "Actually, you both get in this argument every day."

"And neither of them win the argument." Peter added.

Sirius tuned his head to look over at him before nodding his head, "Yeah, neither of them win that argument, which is why it's pointless and stupid."

"You're pointless and stupid, but I still keep you around as company." Gene told him with a grin, glancing over at him. She nearly scowled at herself for a) admitting that she enjoyed Sirius' company now and b) not holding James' glare, the unspoken way they had won the argument they had everyday.

"Awe, you like me as company, our friendship is growing." Sirius mused, bringing her closer before she finally had enough of his arm being around her. She dunked under it as they walked to the kitchens. "That's fine, Rooney. Trout mouth will get jealous."

Genevieve rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything. After just discussing with Zach about how she should have defended him, she still didn't. "Go… suck a fifth year's face, Black."

"Already did." Sirius retorted, his smirk growing as Genevieve pushed him away from her playfully. "Something we are going to have to do is work on your comebacks. You're awful at them."

"She's been bad at them since we were kids. She's an awful liar, too. I heard a rumor that Aunt Jocelyn found her smuggling Chocolate Cauldrons in her trunk." James said, making Genevieve narrow her eyes at him. How did he find out about that?

"Oh, but those are easy to get anyway. We'll be sure to have them for our next party after we beat Ravenclaw, won't we, Prongs?" Sirius said.

"We'll be sure to have them all lined up!"

"I want to know who told you that I even tried to do it."

"Marlene and Dorcas were quite upset that you didn't manage to do it." James stated to her. "But, never fear, Rooney, we'll be sure to have them around for you. Bloody hell, we'll even make them! They can't be that hard to make, right?"

Genevieve managed to sigh heavily at that and shrugged her shoulders. But she admitted to James as he walked slightly ahead of them to get to the kitchens, "I'd rather you not try to."

* * *

They made it back to the Gryffindor Tower a little after curfew, but they were careful enough to not get caught. Genevieve found Lily and Remus by the fire, one of them was reading the _Daily Prophet_ while the other had her potions book open. When they entered the Common Room, Genevieve was debating to run up to the dormitory to avoid being seen but Lily had caught her with, "How was your unofficial Quidditch practice? Did you finish that essay?"

Lily didn't even look up, that was the scary thing. "It's almost done and we didn't exactly practice Quidditch because the Slytherins made it there before us."

"The gits that they are." Sirius remarked before plopping down on the couch, not bothering to go and change out of his uniform. "We managed to get a few things from the kitchens though like we planned."

"But then Peter stole a slice of pie off of my plate." James admitted, heading to the boys' dormitory.

"That's not true, Gene said that I could take it." Peter defended himself, sitting down next to Sirius and propping his feet on the table. Lily was sure to lean forward and swat Peter's feet off of the table before paying attention to her book. Genevieve sauntered over to the couch and propped her arms on the top of it. To unhinge Lily, Sirius was sure to prop his feet on top of the table shortly after with his eyes situated on her, a smug grin managed to show on his face.

For a moment, Lily glared at him and then smacked his feet off the table. They didn't go down so easily and eventually she just gave up on him.

Genevieve turned her head as she nodded to James, "After you yelled at him with no proper reason, I think he deserved your slice of pie."

"Well Remus and I had a grand time studying together," Lily informed them. Gene smiled over at her and raised her brow. She looked to Remus for confirmation. He shook his head no, denying that they had a grand time.

"Did you do that Ancient Runes homework we had to do for tomorrow, Remus?" Genevieve asked him curiously, remembering that she didn't do it.

He nodded his head to her, "It's just a few translations. It didn't take me too long to do and they're all fairly simple." And that was good to hear. It was really good to hear. She could do that tonight and then go to bed. She smiled at him and nodded her head. "Am I meeting you so we could walk there together tomorrow?"

She nodded her head, "As usual, Lupin. After lunch, I'll be waiting. I'm just going to go—."

"Oh, speaking of which, Romeo brought you a letter and I think… Alden's owl brought you something too. I didn't know what to do with him, so he's perched on top of Romeo's cage. He wouldn't leave after he came through the window." Lily told her, briefly looking up from her book. Genevieve raised her brow at Alden's name before nodding her thanks to her uncertainly.

"Ah, okay." Genevieve acknowledged moving away from the couch. "I guess I'll have to get rid of Hermes and write him back." She tried to act like getting a letter from her brother was normal, but this was actually the first one that she had received from him. She had only sent him one and that was from his first night he was here. It was strange to say the least, especially since they were in the same school now. "See you all tomorrow." Genevieve said to them with a small wave. Carrying her broom, she moved slowly to the stairs only to see James jogging down them, now in casual clothes.

He raised a brow at her as he saw going up the steps. "Where are you going, Rooney? The night's still young."

"Lily just told me Al sent me a letter," Genevieve explained to him. "And I think my grandparents just had gotten back to me, plus I have to do my Ancient Runes homework."

"After weeks of not talking to you, Al just randomly sends you a letter?" James asked her in disbelief. She shrugged her shoulders, unsure of what to really say. Alden for the past couple of weeks made sure to avoid her. He did pass by her and they exchanged a hello, but she hadn't had a healthy conversation with her brother during these weeks and it bothered her to say the least. Why was it that he didn't want to talk to her? She just didn't understand Al's problem and she was somewhat curious about this letter. She noticed how James swallowed and he took her arm in a firm grip as he led up the stairs. "You don't believe what Avery said about Al, do you?"

The question was sudden. Genevieve stared at him for a moment, before glancing behind her shoulder. She turned her head back at James. His light eyes narrowed at her intensely, and he seemed confused, maybe even unnerved by Avery's words. "I don't want to believe it, James." She admitted to him honestly. "If he had, I don't know, I would think Dumbledore would have told me."

"Dumbledore is a clever wizard, but he doesn't know everything that happens behind these walls, Gene. You know that." James reasoned with her, and he did have a point. Genevieve took a deep breath as James' grip on her loosened. "I'm worried about Al. I've seen him with a couple of those—."

"James, please, can we not talk about this now?" Genevieve asked him, cutting him off. James took a deep breath before looking away from her, his nostrils flared slightly. "Al's… Al's not that type of person. We know that, so I don't think he did it. Avery was just saying that to get inside of our heads."

"If you say so, Rooney." James said to her a nod, but she could tell just by looking into his hazel eyes that her cousin didn't know if he should believe her. Genevieve knew that James didn't make efforts in talking to Al; it was plain to see that James avoided Alden. But she would rather him avoid her brother than him antagonizing her brother. She wasn't sure if James had any kind words to really say to her brother. "Just…" he started, trailing off as he grimaced. Genevieve looked at him with her eyebrow rising. "Just… tell him if he needs anything to let me know." She smiled at him before nodding her head.

"I will, I think he may like that." Genevieve said to him before James had let go of her arm. She watched him jog down the steps before mentally noting that she should send one of the girls down to keep Lily company. Without anyone else to keep James and the other guys at bay, Lily was going to come up and she was going to have to tell Lily what happened at the pitch with the Slytherins. She didn't want to talk about it with Lily because she wasn't ready to and even if Lily didn't know if anything had happened, she might have guessed it the moment when she mentioned Slytherin was there.

She made sure that Dorcas _and_ Marlene went down to hang out with the rest of the sixth year Gryffindors downstairs. Mary stayed with her, but didn't ask questions as Gene peeled off her red and gold robes and the rest of her gear to put on a pair of shorts and a tank top. She leaned her broom against the wall before petting the head of her brother's barn owl; it was surely Hermes that had entered her dormitory. The two letters were sitting on top of her desk waiting for her. She recognized a letter with her grandmother's handwriting, so she decided to open that one first.

Unfolding it, Genevieve read it over:

_Dear Genie, _

_Well, well, we are to have another healer in the family it seems? I am so proud to hear that you have chosen that career path. Professor McGonagall has high expectations of you and I can see you following your grandmother's footsteps. When your grandfather told me that you would be happy with working in the Ministry, I knew that wasn't to be true. You would find that working in the Ministry is dull._

_I hope this letter finds you in good health and in good mood; your last letter had alarmed me. You shouldn't feel that way because of your brother being in Slytherin. It will all be fine, in the long run. Speaking of your brother, be sure to pass on that your grandfather and I are still awaiting his letter. He's made it a point to not send us anything and we just want word with how he's doing. _

_Your mother seems to be doing better. I don't know if you care to know, but she's walking around the house and socializing with us. She asked about you, but then left shortly after to her room. At least she has gone out of the bedroom. I don't know if it was because Alden is no longer here and she feels lonely, but we are happy that we are seeing some progress with her. Albeit, some. She still barely touches her food unless you beckon her to. She misses your father as we all do. _

_Your grandfather sends his regards. He isn't feeling like himself as of late. He must have caught a cold, or something. I concocted a remedy for it, so he may be regaining his health so it is up to speed for when you return for the Christmas holiday. He asks about you and Alden a lot. _

_Oh! How is my nephew by the way? He's not getting into trouble, is he? And his friend, Sirius? Be sure to tell him that we are more than happy to have him over with the James and his family for Christmas. He is always welcome in our home, such a sweet boy. And your friends? I am sure Lily is happy to see you; you have barely seen her all summer! _

_Watch over your brother. Hogwarts is all new to him and now that you two are not in the same house, it's important to be his sister still. _

_Love always,_

_Your Grandmother_

Genevieve stared at her grandmother's letter, going over several things in her head before she allowed her eyes to flutter tiredly. She was happy that her grandmother didn't know how to work a muggle phone or that Hogwarts didn't have phones. She had talked once on the phone to Lily and that didn't go over too well. She had to think on her feet for an answer each time. At least, with owls, she could write well thought out responses and not be bombarded with questions that would overwhelm her. She debated to write out a reply now or later, but she looked over at Romeo whose tired eyes watched her worriedly.

She decided against writing her reply now and folded the letter on top of her desk before she took out Alden's letter. She stared at it for a bit, her eyes narrowing confused before she took a deep breath.

She opened it slowly before reading it. Though, Alden's letter was just a couple of sentences.

_Gene,_

_I'm sorry that we haven't talked. I know that you tried but I have been busy. Can we meet somewhere? I need to talk to you… I did something that you're probably not going to like. I just… I just need to talk to you. Is there a way we could meet tomorrow? I told Hermes to stay with you until you reply so you'd do it right away. I know that you don't like him. _

_From,_

_Al_

Genevieve clenched her jaw before dropping the letter. She rubbed both of her hands on her face, hearing Avery's words sound in her head. "Everything alright, Gene?" Mary's voice suddenly came, almost pulling her out of her thoughts completely. Genevieve looked up from her hands before nodding her head at her with a fake smile. "You don't look alright, I mean."

"I'm just thinking is all." Genevieve answered her honestly. She decided to ignore the letter, pushing it slightly away from her. "I am in need of some firewhiskey though."

"Too bad we don't have any." Mary remarked, chuckling before sitting on top of bed. "Listen, I'm sorry about—."

"If you're still feeling guilty over what Connor had said weeks ago, please, don't be." Genevieve said to her quickly with a dismissive wave of her hand. "He's an idiot and you shouldn't have to apologize for his idiocy again."

"I have half the mind to break up with—."

"No need. He apologized to me for that ten times already and even told people off for saying things." Genevieve said, pulling out a piece of parchment to ready her response. She took her discarded quill and dabbed it in ink before telling her wither a smirk, "Besides, I'm still thinking up a way to get back at him for that comment and if you break up with him then I wouldn't do it."

"Make it good then." Mary said to her laughing. "You could always have your cousin to back you up with a plan."

"He's not the only prankster in the family. It actually runs on both sides." Genevieve informed her, but she didn't know if she could ever recall herself pulling a prank over someone else's head. Mary furrowed her brow at that before she pulled a book from underneath her pillow to write within. For some reason, Mary enjoyed keeping a diary. Genevieve had no idea why Mary had felt the need to document the moments of her life. She would ask about it, but Genevieve didn't know how she would even ask that.

She looked down at her parchment with her quill in hand before sighing deeply. She rubbed the bridge of her nose before bowing her head and writing back to her brother:

_Al,_

_Glad to know that you're alive. Meet me before dinner at the Great Lake. James gives his regards and said if you need anything to let him know. And also both Grandma and Grandpa are looking for a letter from you. Please write to them because I could her Grandma's nagging through the letter she had sent me. See you tomorrow._

_Gene_

_P.S. I fed Hermes a treat before he left. Hope you don't mind._

And with that P.S. written, she took the piece of parchment folding it and walked over to Hermes who was still on top of Romeo's cage. She bent down by her dresser, opening it to take out a little treat from it. "There you go," she muttered before giving it to the owl, which took it gingerly from her. She handed the folded letter to Hermes, not bothering to put it in an envelope. "Give this to Alden." The owl watched her for a moment before Genevieve went on to secure the envelope with him. Then she held out her arm as Hermes flew into it and brought him over to the window.

Opening it, Hermes flapped his wings and took off. Genevieve closed the window, only letting the slight breeze coming in. As to not insult Romeo, who seemed to be glaring at her from his cage, Genevieve went to give him a treat too. She smirked at the owl. "There, happy?" Romeo was satisfied for the night and this left Genevieve to actually sit quietly back at her desk. She pulled out her books for her Ancient Runes class, which was actually her best subject, surprisingly.

* * *

_**This chapter turned out longer than I had wanted it to be, but I wrote it all in one day! Awesome, right? I'm sorry for the late update, I don't really have an excuse this time for it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you to everyone that wrote me a review, favorited the story, and alerted the story! It means a lot to me and brings a smile to my face. Honestly you all are awesome!**_

_**So, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! And I just started a new fic in the Avengers fandom, it's a Loki/OC story and if you want to read it, you can. I have five chapters posted of it already :) And also, if you haven't liked the Facebook page, you totally should for sneak peeks and other wonderful stuff with candy and unicorns… no, not unicorns or candy. I'm a broke college student and cannot afford either of those luxuries. **_

_**Thank you for reading and until next time!**_

_**Tiana**_


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